Just Another Hero
by ReluctantSavior
Summary: The universe of My Hero Academia is wide and expansive, with plenty of colorful and powerful characters. How will things change if we add just one more? Rated M for possible language and adult themes.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys this is the first fanfiction that I've ever properly written, and I hope you like it. This came about from a conversation that a couple of friends and I had a few months ago that's been kinda percolating in my head. Anyway, More notes at the end, but this is an OC fic where I enter in one of my personal OCs into the My Hero universe. A few more OCs will be present, but mostly as side characters to fill out the world. I'm gonna try and stick with the canon roster as much as possible. Enjoy!**

* * *

A massive blue and gray building stood before me, inspiring awe and intimidation at the same time. So this is the great U.A. High School, huh? It was way more impressive in person. Potential students milled about all around me, each as awestruck by the building and what it represented as I was.

It was the morning of the U.A. Entrance Exam, the one chance a year that wanna-be heroes had a shot of getting into the best hero course in the country. Each one of us was going to give a physical test our all today, and the atmosphere reflected that. Most of the examinees had gathered around the front gate, waiting for it to open and allow us into orientation with nervous anticipation. Anxious whispers filled the air as people grouped up with others they knew, either from school or other training opportunities.

I stood off to the side, waiting on my own. It was understandable that everybody would want to group up with people they already know, but it really doesn't help with the first day jitters. Most of these people won't make it in anyway.

At exactly 8:00 AM, the gates slide open of their own accord, revealing a clear path towards the prestigious school. I decided to wait a few minutes, observing the other examinees as they passed by. Most of them wore hopeful expressions, but none actually seemed to be confident that they would gain enrollment. I, at the very least, was hoping for a half decent score to show that I had given it a fair shot.

"Hey, excuse me?" A tap on my shoulder interrupted my musings. I glanced back to see a muscular guy around my age, with large pointy red hair and a small scar that nicked his right eyebrow. "Are you here for the practical exam?" His frown betrayed some stress and embarrassment, and he didn't quite look me in the eyes. He stood a little shorter than my height, shifting with the demeanor of someone who didn't often have to ask for help.

I gave a smile. Might as well try and make friends. "Yeah, I was just headed towards the auditorium for orientation. What's up?"

He let out a sigh of relief and his shoulders relaxed. "Oh, thank god. I feet kinda dumb to ask, but how do you get there? I'm totally psyched to get my fight on, but I don't know my way around."

I felt a curious smile touch the edges of my lips. "Well, we have to head up towards the main building, and swing through the doors marked for first years. Didn't you see the instructions on the orientation packet that you received when you applied?"

He slouched, giving a resigned sigh. "Not really. After I applied, I got so hyped up that my Quirk activated and I totally ripped it up on accident!" As if to prove a point, he pulled the tattered remains of said packet from his jacket pocket. The poor paper looked like it had been impaled on a rack of knives.

"Jeez, that sucks!" I laughed, scratching the back of my head, my pale green hair flapping messily in the wind. "I can totally relate though! I've had a quirk or two blow up in my face without wanting it!" My hand flew up to my mouth as I realized what I had said. Luckily, he had been too busy putting away his papers to have seemed to notice. Shit, that was close.

He perked up, regaining some of what seemed like his normal vigor. "Yeah, it's so annoying! You'd think after training with it for so long, I'd totally have it under control!" He seemed much more confident now, as if he'd shaken off his nervousness. He stood up straight, eyes shining with determination. "I guess that's why we're gonna go to U.A. though, huh? I'm gonna learn how to be one of the strongest and coolest heroes here!" He half-shouted, raising his fist into the air.

I smiled. This guy seemed pretty cool. His attitude was really contagious, I could help but get excited that the thought. "That's right!" I raised my fist as well, mimicking his stance. "Once we pass that exam, we're gonna be the best!" After a second of enjoying that mental image, I lowered my fist and gestured for him to walk with me. "By the way, what's your name? I didn't catch it earlier."

"Oh yeah!" He smiled, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Mine's Eijirou Kirishima, but all my friends just call me Kirishima."

I gave a wide smile. "Nice to meet you, Kirishima. I'm Kyousuke Watanabe, but you can call me Kyou."

* * *

After weaving through the halls of U.A., Kirishima and I made our way to the auditorium where all the other examinees were waiting. The room, like everything else on this campus, was massive. The staff filed us all in, one by one, until everyone was seated. The seat were lush and comfortable, and they even reclined!

Kirishima seemed to be mirroring my thoughts. "Damn, these are some nice digs!" He exclaimed. "I can't wait to see what the classrooms are like, if their auditorium is so nice! I wonder how they afford it all though?"

"Maybe it has to do with all those celebrity alumni?" I ask, feeling as if I'd hit it dead on. "Once you get ranked, you start making a bunch of money, an U.A. has several graduates in the top ten, including All Might."

"Yeah, that makes sense." He stretched out, reclining his chair all the way. "Remind me to thank All Might, if I ever- "

"You there!" A stern voice from a row above us interrupted, pointedly speaking at Kirishima. "How dare you lounge about when we're waiting for such a momentous speech to begin!" The voice was connected to an equally stern looking boy with a wide from and clean cut hair. He ajusted his glasses as he pointed at my new friend with professional grade authority.

Kirishima seemed embarrassed and a little taken aback. "Look man, I woke up super early this morning, and was just enjoying the nice chairs. I didn't mean to be rude."

"That is no excuse! We are all here as potential hero course students, and it would be best if you showed respect to us and the school by being attentive!" As if to emphasize the point, the boy straightened his chair from it's default position to what looked like an uncomfortable ninety degree angle. "True heroes should be an example to all others, and not laze about whenever the opportunity arises!"

I leaned over to Kirishima. "Just go with it." I whispered. A little louder I said, "Thank you, I appreciate you setting my friend straight. We'll make sure we're more respectful."

The boy seemed skeptical, but slightly reassured. "Thank you. It is nice to see that some of my potential peers can be respectful." He sat down, and seemed to stop paying as close attention to us.

Kirishima poked me in the ribs. "Hey man, why'd you go sucking up to that guy?" His tone was more curious than perturbed.

I sat back, arms folded in front of me. "I know his type. He wasn't trying to be mean or anything, but he's nervous and taking it out on others. Honestly, I don't blame him. We all should be nervous."

Kirishima's face lit up. "Wow, that makes sense. So, by letting him be right, you took the manly route!" He flexed his bicep, as if to accentuate the word manly.

I grinned sheepishly at my new red-headed friend. "I don't know if I'd say that, but it did seem to take less effort than arguing with him." I turned and pointed in his direction. "He seems less nervous now, doesn't he?"

Kirishima nodded. "Yeah, guess so." He leaned back against his chair, without reclining it this time. "You're a pretty cool dude, Kyou. I hope we get paired up when we start classes!"

I shrugged, a grin touching the edges of my lips. "We have to pass the test first, but yeah, me too."

"Sweet!" Kirishima exclaimed. "Oh, and speaking of that, is that a teacher coming out?" He pointed.

Following his gaze, I saw a moderately sized man with long, blonde hair walk out on stage. The man had on a pair of rocker style sunglasses and a punk leather jacket. The teacher, which is what I assumed he was at this point, walked with swagger, more akin to a celebrity than a member of school faculty.

As he reached center stage, the house lights dimmed, and the man loudly said " **What's up U.A. candidates! Thanks for tunin' in to me, your school DJ! Come on and let me hear ya!** " He exclaimed, his already loud voice accentuated by the auditorium sound system.

He was met with silence, and more than a little confusion. I wasn't above it myself. School DJ? This man was one of the people in charge of our education?

He seemed unaffected by the lack of response from the audience. " **Keeping it mellow, huh? That's fine, I'll skip straight to the main show. Let's talk about how this practical exam's gonna go down, okay? Are you ready!?** " He shouted, trying for audience interaction again.

Again, he was met with silence.

Apparently not one to be dissuaded, the teach continued. " **Like your application said, today you rockin' boys and girls will be out there conducting ten minute mock battles in super-hip urban settings! Gird your loins my friends! After I drop the mic here, you'll head to your specified battle centers! Sound good? OKAY!?** "

I shifted uncomfortably as the teacher was once again met with silence.

Kirishima leaned over to me, pointing at the application card I had pulled out. It was marked **A** , whereas his had a **D** on it. "Ah man! they have us going to different battle centers." He whispered, looking dejected. "Looks like we won't be able to work together on the test."

I felt touched. I'd known this guy less than twenty minutes and he already wanted to team up. "It's okay buddy." I patted him on the back. "That just means we both have to pass and team up later."

That reignited the spark in his eye. "Yeah, sounds good!"

" **Okay, Okay. Let's check out your targets.** " The teacher started up again. " **There are three types of faux-villains in every battle center. You'll earn points based on their level of difficulty, so better choose wisely! Your goal in this trial is to use your quirk to raise your score by shredding these faux-villains like a mid song guitar solo!** " As he was speaking, the screens behind him lit up with graphics similar to an old 16-bit game, showing examples of what we should do during the exam. " **But check it! Make sure you're keeping things heroic. Attacking other examinees is a U.A. no-no, ya dig?** "

"Excuse me sir, but I have a question!" An urgent call out came from a row above us, again. Without even looking up, I knew it was the stern guy from earlier. His willingness to interrupt a teacher, even one as out of touch as this one, confused me. My first impression had him as someone who followed the rules to the letter.

" **Hit me!** " The teacher yelled, keeping the same extreme amount of energy that he'd had the entire presentation.

The lights above the boy clicked on, and he held up a piece of paper that had been included in our application packet. "On the print out, you've listed four types of villains, not three. With all respect, if this is an error on official U.A. materials, it is shameful! We are exemplary student. We expect the best from Japan's most notable school! A mistake such as this won't do!" I face palmed. However, he wasn't done. Turning around, he pointed up a few rows towards a student that I couldn't see. "Additionally, you with the unkempt hair! You've been muttering this entire time. Stop that. If you can't bother to take this seriously, leave. You're distracting the rest of us."

Up above him, I could hear a very muffled and weak voice mutter out "Sorry.."

Poor guy.

The teacher didn't seem to share my opinion. " **Alright, alright. Examinee number 7111, thanks for calling in with your request.** " He gave a thumbs up. " **The fourth villain type is worth zero points! That guy's just an obstacle we'll be throwing in your way. There's one in every battle center. Think of it as a hurtle you should try and avoid. It's not that it can't be beaten, but there's kinda no point. I recommend my listeners try to ignore it and focus on the one's on top of the charts!** "

The boy seems satisfied. "Thank you very much. Please, continue." He sat back down, and the lights above him clicked back off.

" **That's all I got for you today! I'll sign off with a little present, a sample of our school motto! As General Napoleon Bonaparte once laid down, 'A true hero is one who overcomes life's misfortunes.' Mm hmm, now that's a tasty sound byte! You ready to go beyond? Let's hear a PLUS ULTRA!** " He yelled, and animation and sound byte going off at the same time to give the motto extra emphasis. " **Good Luck! Hope you practiced hitting more than just books!** " He waved as he turned and promptly walked backstage.

The lights came back on, blinding everyone for a few seconds. As they started herding us out of the auditorium, Kirishima turned to me. "That was exciting, huh?" He smiled wide. "Now I can't wait for my exam!"

As nervous as I was, I couldn't disagree with him. "Yeah, I hope we do really well, so we can both get into the top class!"

"Heck yeah!" He jumped up and raised a fist. "Go Plus Ultra on your exam!"

"No need to worry, I'm all fired up now!" I turned and grinned. Now was the time to let loose, and let my skills do the talking.

* * *

After changing into clothing that was more fitting for the combat exam, Kirishima and I parted ways and boarded buses towards our respective exam locations. The roads there were nothing to write home about, the exam site was jaw dropping.

In front of me, there was a wall easily three or four stories tall, and several taller buildings peaked out from behind it. It seemed to stretch for a mile in either direction, before turning to form what I guessed was a massive square of mock city. Off in the distance, I could see other exam sites, each equally as large and impressive.

U.A. really doesn't do anything halfway.

As I disembarked the bus, other examinees began to mill about around me. Unlike at the gates this morning, however, no one really grouped up or began to talk to anyone else. Instead, people began warming up, or concentrating on getting rid of their nerves. It didn't look like anyone was completely successful though. By splitting everyone up, U.A. was really seeing what each of us could accomplish. It was intimidating, sure, but it maked sense.

" **Start.** " A voice echoed from high above our heads, startling just about everyone. The source of the voice was a tired sounding man, clad in black besides a pair of neon yellow goggles that covered his eyes and a long white scarf that wrapped around his lower face.

We all stood there for a second, no one quite reacting to what he had said. A loud sigh came down from the figure. " **I said 'start'. That means go.** " He said again, waving his hand dismissively.

I turned around. In the few seconds we had been watching the man, the massive doors to the city had silently opened, leaving the faux-city open. Immediately, people began to catch on to what was happening. All around me, potential students surged forward, all nervous and eager to prove themselves. The sound of footfalls filled the air as dozens of hopeful candidates of the hero course sprinted towards their futures.

Entering the city arena was immediate chaos. Students pushed past each other, each recognizing that every other student was competition. People tried to use their quirks to push themselves ahead, or slow others behind them. Different energy attacks, like fire and lightning, were released onto the street. Explosions filled the air as one student launched himself above the rest, screaming "Die!" all the while.

As for myself, I concentrated on gaining mobility and leaving the crowd of students that were still tightly packed together.I uncurled my fingers, performing an action that had long since become a reflex. " **Quirk Activation: Amber Flare!** " I shouted. Flowing my concentration towards my hands, long golden-orange whips of flame sprouted from each of my fingertips. I couldn't see them, but I knew that my normally dark brown eyes were now shining a fiery orange.

I reached upward with my arms, whipping the coils of energy around a light post that was several meters off of the ground. With a surge of strength, I pulled myself upwards and away from the mass students. Luckily for me, the ropes conjured by my Amber Flare were just solid enough that I could exert force on objects, instead of just bathing them in strands of heat and light. Moving from light post to light post, I quickly pulled ahead of most of the competition, other than single students who had gone off in different directions, like explosion-boy and a few others.

Ahead, a rumbling noise began to echo down the street as the faux villains came into robots, humanoid drones with machine guns for arms and a singular wheel in the place of legs, rammed through the sides of buildings and light posts alike, giving little regard to their surroundings. Along their machine-metal grey arms was a large **1** in block letters and neon yellow ink.

I shook my head. The one pointers weren't worth my time. Better to head off the beaten path and get to the higher point villains sooner. I swung to the left, narrowly landing in an alleyway between two large buildings. When I turned the corner again onto a street mostly devoid of other students, I was met with some variation of a robot scorpion, with four armored legs and a massive tail. Spotting the massive **2** spray-painted onto its side, it was obvious which faux villain this was.

I felt a smile crack my face. A two pointer was a definite improvement. I began to flank right, but feinted toward the left at the last second, noting the two-pointer's reaction time. It moved slowly, barely keeping up with a basic maneuver. As I ran around it's left flank, I struck out with my Amber Flare. They passed through the metal easily, striking through it's rear armor like butter. Molten metal popped and bubbled down its sides, looking like blood from a wound. My smile evaporated as quickly as it had appeared. It made no sense for U.A. to make their test robots both slow and weak. There had to be a catch.

Like a sarcastic god responding to my thoughts, the robot turned, moving with far greater speed than it had just seconds before. It swiped out with its front claws, almost nailing me in the side as I leapt backwards. I barely landed on my feet and stumbled into a wall behind me. I brought up my flare whips again, spinning them in front of me, trying to draw the two-pointer's claws away as I tried to come up with a solution. Unfortunately, a metal blur above my head reminded me that I had forgotten a major aspect of this particular robot.

 _ **Crash!**_

Cement rained down as the tail barely missed my head and pulled back, ready for another strike. I tried to roll away. But the robot had its front legs on either side of me, barricading me in. A whirring noise signaled the tail coming down again with another powerful strike.

Shit! It's tail was moving too fast, there's no way I can stop it with my whips in time! In that split second, I closed my eyes and dropped my concentration on Amber Flare, trying something relatively new and muttering one phrase for dear life: _Please work, Please Work, Please Work!_

 _ **Clang!**_

Oh thank god.

Opening my eyes, I spotted the remnants of the two-pointer's tail scattered around it, crumpled as though it had struck a brick wall. With the tail out of the way, I summoned my energy coils once again and swung my arm forward, slicing off the front two legs with ease. Though the robot had suddenly increased its speed, it was still made out of a garbage material and thus, it was easy to cut through.

Taking a second to rest, I noticed that others had begun to join me in the side streets. A myriad of quirks were on display against the two-pointers, and it looked like all of them were having the same difficulties that I'd just had with the two-pointers hiding their true strength at the beginning of the fight. It was a sure strategy to surprise the overconfident examiners and weed out the weak. I shrugged. U.A. was already proving to be a harsh place.

I jumped back into the fray against two more two-pointers, making sure to take care of their tails immediately. Now that I knew more about their abilities, it was easy to make short work of the poorly constructed robots. A few minutes and a baker's dozen of robots later I was feeling pretty confident. Twenty-eight points in just a few minutes was more of a lead than I could have hoped for, though I was still keeping an eye out for the three-pointers.

The ground began to rumble as dozens of tank-sized robots began steamrolling through the streets. Unlike their lesser-valued counterparts, these robots looked ill-equipped for melee. Instead, each three-pointer had two mounted sets of missile systems on their backs. The robots came out in full force, firing randomly towards the crowd of distracted examinees. When the missiles hit their target, however, they didn't explode like you would imagine. Instead, the explosions were bright pink, and did more to push back the other students than anything else.

" **Five minutes left.** " A familiar voice called from above. The dark clad faculty member who had let us into the stadium stood on a tower at the edge of the city, using a megaphone to amplify his voice.

I jumped up from the scrap mound of scorched robot parts and unfurled my Amber Flare and swung them upwards. Wrapping around an elevated signpost, I pulled myself through the sky, intent on reaching the higher valued villains before my competition. What I did not expect, however, was to immediately collide with another eager student as my head smacked against his midair through our respective jumps. We both hit the ground with a resounding thud as our classmates passed us up to take a shot at the new villains.

"God damn it, fat ass! Get out of my way!" The other candidate yelled as he stood up from the asphalt, his voice as scathing as his words. It was the explosion boy from earlier. No surprise there, I guess. "I don't have time to get held up by fucking rejects like you!"

Getting up myself, I had time to notice my accidental assailant before he took off. Spiky blonde hair and a vicious expression to match his attitude, this guy seemed like bad news. "Nice to meet you too, asshole." I muttered as he turned to walk away.

He turned back to face me, crimson eyes seething. "You're lucky that I gotta go get first place, or I'd kill you till you died!" He snarled as he thrust his hands behind him with purpose.

 _ **Boom!**_

An explosion ripped from his palms and sent him flying towards the faux enemies. He soared through the air, adjusting course with even more explosions. As he landed, he brought his fist down directly into the missile compartment of a three-pointer, obliterating the robot with chain detonations.

I stood there for a second, absorbing what he had said. "'Kill me till I died?' Doesn't he get how redundant that is?" It took another second for my purpose to return to me. "Shit, the exam!"

I ran into the crowd, whips flying as I sliced through the faux enemies. The three-pointers were more heavily armored than the two-pointers, but still child's play to cut through. I swept outwards with my whips, amber energy flaring and melting through the outer plating of a nearby three-pointer. The missile launcher on its back fell to the ground with a large CLUNK as the robot lost its main source of firepower. It turned, attempting to swipe at me with its heavy front arms, but it was much slower than its two-pointer brethren. I easily dodged to the side and brought my right arm up in an arc, ready to strike downwards into the robot's head.

There was a burst of light, like a flash bang filled with rainbows, and a ring of prismatic light burst into existence above the three-pointer. It hovered there for a moment before a blonde girl streaked out of the sky, delivering a powerful kick to its ruined back. The damaged and fatigued armor crumpled underneath her strike

She looked up from her kill, directly at me. "Thanks for making this easy!" She stuck her tongue out, blue eyes twinkling mischievously. Before I could utter a response, another ring of light appeared and she vanished through it, reappearing almost a block away to attack another weakened robot.

She had stolen my kill, and I couldn't decide whether or not to be annoyed or impressed.

Shaking my head from getting distracted once again, I went back to robot slaying. Racking up point after point in twos and threes, as I was letting others go after the one-pointers, I was yet again feeling secure in my position of fifty points. The thought was immediately followed by multiple muffled crashes, as though there was a nearby localized earthquake. About a block away, a monstrously large form began to loom above the buildings, shaking the entire city as it moved.

I sighed.

" **Three minutes left.** " The exam proctor warned us from above.

With that, and with the appearance of the terrifying and ultimately worthless giant that is the zero-pointer, most of the students scattered and fled, looker for weaker villains to fight. I could see a few others though, the explosion boy and a couple of students that I hadn't seen before, still fighting among the three pointers. It occured to me that continuing here, even with the looming danger, was the smart play. The rest of the city, if it still had robots to fight, would only be populated with one and two-pointers. This is the real test. Do you run, and go after the low value villains, or do you stay and fight with the risk of go up against something that you can't beat?

The answer seemed obvious. This was U.A. High School, the training ground of heroes. They wouldn't want the students who would abandon their mission at the first sign of danger. I turned and ran head first into the center of the three-pointers, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the monstrous zero-pointer. I might just have a little fun with this one.

* * *

 **So yeah, hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter of Just Another Hero. This is my first fic, and I would love some reviews to tell me what you think, and where I could improve my writing. Tell me what you think of Kyou, though I haven't given out too many details yet. This was a pretty long chapter, with quite a bit of regurgitated material that I had to work through to get where I wanted, so don't necessarily think they'll always hit this length. I'll do what I can, but no promises. I'm going to try and hit a bi-weekly schedule, so expect another chapter somewhere around Thursday, Nov 15. This is Rel - signing out.**

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 ****Edited 7/14/19** for small formatting changes and typo fixing.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, everybody, this is a bonus chapter that I'm posting to tell my fellow Americans to go vote! Because it's voting day today in the U.S., we all get another chapter, yay! Mostly though, tbh, it's because I wanted to post chapter two and need an excuse. Still expect the chapter on the 15th, but this came because I wanted to put more story out there. Anyway, enjoy!**

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I ran forward, sprinting into the fray. Surrounding me was a ring of U.A. examinees and the corpses of destroyed robots. Pink explosions and fake missiles filled the air, creating disorienting chaos and confusion. With only three minutes left on the clock, this was the most fun I'd had in a long time.

Running between a pair of three-pointers, I whipped my arm forward and latch onto another's back with my Amber Flare, the fiery coils popping and sparking with heat when they made contact with the metal. With a fierce pull, I launched myself upward, above the crowd of fighting. In the split second before I began to fall, when everything was still, I could see the entire battlefield. Explosion Boy, I still hadn't caught his name, weaved in and out of the crowd of mechanical villains, using his explosion to both launch himself across the battlefield and deliver fierce blows to the robots in his way. As rude as he was earlier, he wasn't joking when he said he was gunning for first place. That guy's good.

Another student, a boy with bulging muscles and thick pink lips ran through the robots, as opposed to around them, tearing them apart with his bare hands. He screamed each time, a savage war cry that inspired fear. Even with the sub-par material that the robots had been constructed with, it was no easy feat to tear them apart.

The last student in the immediate area was a girl, with horns poking out from her pink hair and she had pink skin to match. She ran up to each robot, slapping a sticky white substance onto exposed joints and weakened panels. Faux villains who were touched by this substance immediately began to collapse as their parts corroded and dissolve.

As I began to fall, I looked down the street, where the zero-pointer loomed. It was closer now, close enough that it began to roll over the farthest three-pointers from us, and that worried me. The asphalt shifted and broke as its treads rolled over it, the earth itself being too weak to uphold the mechanical monster.

As I began to land, I called out to the other fighters. "Zero-pointer's almost here! You should try to lead as many three-pointers as you can farther up the street! It won't do us any good to fight with that thing bearing down on us! The two-pointers aren't worth it, so ignore them!"

Muscles and Acid-Girl both looked up and nodded, showing that they had heard my suggestion and agreed. But, of course, Explosion-Boy refused. He looked up at me and shouted "Fuck off, Salad Hair! I don't care about that stupid thing! Only rejects like you run away!" He emphasized this by slamming his fists into the face of a three-pointer, releasing an explosion and obliterating the robot.

Damn it. This idiot was going to continued to draw the aggro on the robot horde.. His shear stubbornness was going to make me readjust the plan.I finally hit the ground, letting the shell of a dead three-pointer break my fall. I looked over at the two others who had reached me at this point. "New plan then, since he's not a team player. What we do is we stick closer to the zero-pointer, clearing out enemies together before it crushes them so we can extract maximum points! Does that plan work for you guys?" Again, they answered in the most efficient way by simply nodding and running into position.

I unfurled Amber Flare once again, flicking them over to a nearby two-pointer and wrapping around its tail. I heaved myself once again into the air, tearing the tail from its body in the process. I landed in the path of the zero-pointer, and began ripping through the robots in my way. Beside me, I could see both Muscles and Acid-Girl getting to work. We began to move up the street, trying to avoid the oncoming zero-pointer. The ground rumbled and shook, and debris came flying from the crushed asphalt underneath of the massive robot.

The world became a blur of metal and destruction. I swung my arms viciously, flipping around and cutting through villains as their outsides popped and melted. Acid-Girl began to release more of her quirk, spraying layers of acid on multiple enemies at once, seeming less conservative after realizing we were in the final stretch. Muscles, however, was slowing down. His punches were getting weaker, and his reactions less refined. With a grimace, he pulled what looked like a sugar cube from his belt and swallowed it whole. It help, but not very much. If he doesn't get his game up,we were all going be in trouble. I looked up at Acid-Girl, and she seemed to be thinking the same thing.

It seemed we weren't the only ones who noticed it either. As Muscles went to land a hit on a three-pointer that he'd been working on for a few seconds, a ring of prismatic luminensence appeared over his foe. I'd seen this trick before, just a few minutes ago in fact, so I wasn't surprise. Again, the blonde girl from before struck downwards, out of her portal. The robot crumpled under her weight easily after the beating it had taken. Unlike last time, however, something different about the girl. Her expression was worried and impatient, not like the carefree person she had just been a minute before. She must not have had very many points, and she was panicking because she didn't want to fail.

Quickly, she disappeared through her portal again in a burst of light. Muscles looked so tired that he didn't seem to care about the stolen kill. He simply shrugged and went back to beating face on the faux villains.

Farther down the road, I saw her reappear, taking a kill from Explosion Boy. He screamed something at her that I couldn't hear, but she blinked from there as well and I lost sight of her.

Above, the proctor's voice echoed again. " **One minute left**."

That pulled my thoughts away from the girl. Damn. I wish I could help her, but I needed to focus on getting enough points for myself.

I turned back towards to onslaught of mechanical villains, and jumped out of the way to narrowly dodge the tail of a two-pointer. The machine had a long gouge along its right flank, probably where another student had tried and failed to bring it down. I reached out, wrapping around the robot's front left leg, and pulling with enough force to separate the limb at the joint. I pulled my arm back, ready to deliver the finishing blow, when I noticed a shadow looming above me.

 _ **SMASH!**_

The zero-pointer's massive arm raked into the ground where I had been standing just seconds before, tearing apart the asphalt and blasting me backwards with the sheer wind pressure. The whirring and creaking of heavy machinery filled the air as the massive robot pulled back its arm, getting ready to strike again.

As the robot's arm moved, I could see the two-pointer from before, still mostly intact and moving. Apparently, the metal giant had missed both me and its weaker brethren. I wasn't insane enough to go after it again, not with the zero-pointer bearing down on me, so I turned to run away. As I went to leave, however, a glimmer caught my eye. I felt my shoulders tense as I realized what it was.

What the hell was she thinking?

A tell-tale circle of rainbow colored light appeared over the undefended two-pointer. Unfortunately, it was also directly under the looming shadow of the zero-pointer's descending fist. My body moved before I could think, arms reaching desperately. " **Watch out!** " I yelled, Amber Flare extended.

The moment she popped out of her portal, a look of confusion passed across her face, followed by one of fear and realization as she looked up. My whips reached her right before the giant did, wrapping around her waist and pulling her towards me.

 _ **CRASH!**_

The zero-pointer's fist connected with the ground, crumpling the two-pointer and causing another concussive blast that propelled everything away from it. That sent the girl spiraling forward into me, knocking both of us to the ground. I laid there for a second, doing a mental check for injuries. There was nothing that wasn't caused by exhaustion. Good, we were lucky.

Opening my eyes, I inspected the girl laying on the pavement next to me. She was conscious, but splayed on her back, probably considering how close to death she'd just come. Her blue and white tracksuit was ripped and torn in places, probably from the fighting, but the only notable marks were the still smoking blacked streaks that were coiled around her waist. It didn't look like I burned through to her skin, so that was something.

The now familiar pattern of whirs and creaks pulled me back to reality. I jumped up, pulling the girl with me, and prepared to run back out of the zero-pointer's range. In that moment, however, a horn sounded. " **Stop, time's up.** " The faculty member called from above.

It took a second for that to settle in. The exam was over. I looked around, taking in the battlefield. Piles of scrap metal were scattered around the street, and the still intact robots were still, as if they had lost all energy the moment the test ended. Down the street a bit, I could see Acid-Girl cheering, jumping up and down in excitement. Muscles was sitting, looking ready to keel over. Even farther away, I could see Explosion Boy kicking the dead villains, still shouting something that I couldn't hear over the distance.

A soft sound, a noise I hadn't heard in a long time, drew my eyes behind me. My dark eyes went to meet bright blue ones, but they didn't quite make it there. There was a watery barrier between them. The girl who I had saved, she was crying.

I stood there, unsure of what to do. I knew why she was crying, and she had good reason for it. I turned to her, to confirm my suspicions. "How many points did you make it to?"

She sniffled and looked up, meeting my gaze. "T-Twenty Eight." She let out another sob, eyes falling to look at the ground.

I winced. She wasn't even close. From what I could remember, I was somewhere around sixty-two, maybe sixty-four points. That was with my offense based quirk and working with the other two. I took a seat on top of the corpse of a nearby three-pointer. After thinking it over for a few seconds, I shook my head, coming to the same conclusion that she definitely had. She never had a chance.

* * *

It took a few minutes for the U.A. faculty to get to the city, but eventually they opened the gates back up and let us out. As I was boarding the bus, I spotted the girl again. She looked somber but less emotional than she had earlier, resigned to what had happened. At least she had stopped crying. That meant that she wasn't completely devastated.

She wasn't the only one who was disappointed with their scores either. Both on the bus, and once we reached school campus, the clear tone was one of overwhelming defeat. On my way to the locker rooms, I passed examinees with swollen red eyes, sunken expressions, and more than a few tears. It was very easy to tell who was confident in their scores. The ones who had done well were already dressed, moving with purpose and excitement, if not outright celebrating. I'd be curious to know the average score across the exams. I wonder how I scored compared to other people.

"Hey! Guy with the green hair!" A bubbly voice announced behind me. I turned and saw a pair of horns peeking from under a bush of pink hair. It was Acid-Girl, now dressed in a nice fitting white blouse and jeans, as opposed to the black tracksuit she'd been wearing earlier. Lugging behind her was a wall of muscle a few inches taller than me, dressed in a polo and khakis. Muscles had tagged along as well.

I gaze them a quizzical look as I stood off to the side and waited for them to catch up. Acid-Girl sprinted up, hopping between groups of students with ease. "There you are!" She exclaimed. "We've been looking all over for you!"

Muscles lumbered up behind her. "Yeah, we wanted to thank you for your help during the exam!" He said in a cheerful baritone. "We couldn't have done as well as we did without you!"

I scratched the back of my head, not sure what to say. I guess my plan did help more than just me, so it's only natural that they'd want to thank me. "Oh, it's no problem!" I said, giving a polite smile. "I just thought things might be easier for everyone if we organized a bit! Honestly, you guys just put in as much effort as you would have anyway. Sorry if I was a bit bossy on the battlefield." I nodded my head in apology.

"Nah, man. When I'm all Quirked up, my brain doesn't work as well, so I needed all the direction I could get." Muscles responded, seeming a bit embarrassed.

"And you were so cool on the battlefield, too!" Acid-Girl chimed in. "You were all 'This is the plan!' and all that, so it would have been have been hard not to listen to you!" She hopped around as she spoke, not being able to contain her excitement. "Plus, we definitely made it in with the scores we got working together, so we're probably gonna be classmates! I'm Mina Ashido, and me and the big guy wanted to come introduce ourselves so we could be friends!" She pumped her arms into the air.

Muscles seemed even more embarrassed, if the reddening of his cheeks was anything to go by. "W-well, I don't know about all that…" He steeled himself, thrusting an extended hand outward. "HI, I'm Rikido Sato! Nice to meet you!"

I took his hand and shook it. The big guy doesn't seem to take attention all that well. "Don't worry about it. It's nice to meet you, Sato." I turned to Ashido. "Nice to meet you too, Ashido. I'm Kyousuke Watanabe, but my friends call me Kyou."

"Sweet! We're gonna be best friends, and hang out all the time!" She turned to where she facing both Sato and I, a serious look on her face. "And if we're going to be friends, call me Mina! It's much easier and way cuter than my last name!"

"Hey Kyou!" A familiar voice sounded behind me.

I smile hit my face when I saw a confident spike of bright red hair. "Kirishima! You're looking cocky. I take it you did well on your exam?" I asked with a smirk. He did look more confident than this morning, with his posture held higher and his chin up. As he approached, he gave a simple wave to Mina, implying that they must know each other.

"Hell yeah I did!" He pumped a fist with exhilarated vigor. "Those robots were nothing! There's no way that I didn't make it in!" He offered a fist bump, which I returned. "And you?"

My grin widened. "Well, I did say I was gonna go Plus Ultra on the exam, didn't I? I'm pretty sure I passed, cause I lost track of my score somewhere around sixty points. "

A collective gasp sounded around me, reminding me of Mina and Sato's presence. Mina's face was delightfully shocked. "W-wait! You're telling me that you scored like twenty points higher than me?!"

I shrugged, feeling my palms sweat and my cheeks redden. "W-w, yeah? So what?" I tucked my hands into my pockets, not doing so well under the attention.

"If that's all you scored, then you're lower than me, Salad Hair." A voice called from up the path, one filled with a mix of pride and annoyance.

How the hell did I manage to run into just about every person that I encountered in the exam?

Sato and Mina parted as Explosion-Boy pushed through them, He sauntered up, red eyes burning with both anger and a smug sense of satisfaction. His right hand was held out in front of him as harmless explosions popped across it. "I scored seventy points. I told you only weaklings and rejects go for teamwork, and I was right." He pushed forward into my personal space, knowingly getting in my face.

Kirishima took a step forward, looking like a teacher trying to stop a fight. "Hey man, I think that's close enough."

I shook my head, keeping eye contact with the boy."No, Kirishima. It's fine. Explosion-Boy here made it clear during the exam that he wouldn't take part in team play, and the results showed." I stepped forward, reversing the power play and getting even closer. He didn't seem to like the proximity between us as he quickly stepped back. "I don't think he meant to invade my personal space. He was just excited about his exam scores." I pushed my hand forward, with much more force than necessary, towards the boy. "Kyousuke Watanabe."

He looked down at my hand and had the audacity to sneer. "I don't shake hands with useless extras." He turned away, stalking towards the front gate. At the last minute, he made eye contact with me again, crimson eyes searing. "Katsuki Bakugou. That's the name of the person who's gonna be the greatest hero." He passed through the front gate and out of sight.

After a moment, everyone was a bit stunned at the boldness Bakugou had displayed, Mina broke the silence. "That guy was kind of a dick."

That simple sentence, especially with Mina's bubbly voice behind it, broke me. A chuckle escaped me that soon became convulsions of laughter. I could hear Kirishima and Mina join in, and the deep guffaw of Sato as he caught up to the conversation. U.A. was definitely going to be fun

* * *

I stared at the letter, unsure of what to do with it now that I had finally received word back from U.A. It had been one week since the Entrance Exam. One week of torturous waiting for my results. It was only with the assistance of my new friends that I had made it through the week without dying of anticipation. I had met up with Kirishima twice this week, going to the arcade one day and the park on another, and had regularly texted with Mina through the night. I'd exchanged a few words with Sato, but our conversations were normally stiff and short. I don't think the big guy knew what to talk about, so he normally gave one word answers.

Regardless of how my week went, however, that was neither here nor there. There was a white envelope on my welcome mat with the gold U.A. lettering on it. I picked it up, feeling the creases and studying it for a second. I frowned curiously. It was heavier than I expected.

I flipped over the envelope, pulling at the edge of the paper. I wave of nervousness and fear hit me. What if I had failed? What if I had made some mistake, or miscounted my points? I looked at the innocuous envelope again and shook me head. No, I was being an idiot I went to open the letter again, and again my confidence failed me. My hands shook and I dropped the letter.

Damn it. There was no way I could do this by myself. Maybe I would just have to wait to open it with Gran.

Like an answer to my prayers, I felt a furry body rub up against my leg. "Mrow?"

I looked down at the white and black patch of fur, and smiled _._ "Gremlin, you are my lord and savior!"

I leaned down and picked up both my cat and the letter and retreated to the couch. My little apartment wasn't big, it was a single room with a kitchenette and a bathroom, but it was comfortable. I cuddled up with my cat, and got up the nerve to open my letter. Inside, there was a folded piece of paper and a small metallic circle with 'Set on flat surface to activate' engraved on the the rim. I put the folded piece of paper on my side table, I'd get to it later, and set the device down in front of me.

As the device made contact with the floor, a rectangular box of light appeared above it. " **BOOYAH! I am here, as a projection now!** " Boomed a voice that every person on the planet knew. There, on a hologram in my front room, was All Might himself, dressed in a hideous and expensive looking yellow suit. " **I, as the newest member of the U.A. faculty, am here to give you the results of your exam!** "

Holy shit, All Might is a teacher at U.A. now? Like every kid, I carried a ridiculous amount of respect and fan boyishness for the number one hero. I nearly fainted right there from excitement, but All Might was still talking.

" **Young man, you performed adequately on the written test and passed with an average grade. This, however, is not what carries the most weight in becoming a U.A. student! During the practical exam, you scored a total of sixty-two** **Villain Points** **!** " He raised his hand in a thumbs-up. " **Out of all of the students taking the exam, you had the second highest number of** **Villain Points** **! Well done, young man!** "

My heart nearly stopped. Not only did I score high, but I got second in the class? I felt a wave of euphoria that was almost immediately halted by a speck of resentment. That meant that Bakugou came in first place across the entire exam. Damn.

" **Young man!** " All Might continued, getting my attention. " **While it may seem bittersweet to come in second place, you have made a large accomplishment in your amount of Villain Points alone! However, there was more than simply defeating villains that contributed to your score! Here, a short clip for your viewing pleasure!** " All Might turned towards a screen that was behind him and flourished a remote with all of the pizzaz of a game show host.

The screen switched, and I could see myself near the end of the practical test. Mina and Sato were farther up the street, already having taken out plenty of robots. A heavy fist flew into frame, nearly crushing me. My eyes widened. I recognized this scene, as I had been there myself.

Sure enough, the camera was blinded by a burst of rainbow colored light and I could hear myself shout in the background. When vision returned, the girl and I were laying on the ground, breathless and exhausted from the fight. It was weird to see that moment from the outside. It felt wrong to see a video of myself acting like a hero, like I didn't deserve to be there. I knew in my heart that it was because that girl didn't pass, but I don't think I wanted to admit it yet.

The screen flicked back to All Might. " **That, young man, was an act of heroism. While you Miss Mitsugi did not pass the Entrance Exam, you saved her from an awful fate. It is your actions that inspire others, as shown by your teamwork with young Ashido and young Sato. My alma mater is all about training those who would risk their lives for the greater good, so we have another way to grade students. Rescue Points!** "

I think my heart actually did stop this time.

" **A panel of judges watches the practical exam, and they award points for heroic acts beyond just fighting villains! Kyousuke Watanabe, you have earned 20 Rescue Points!** " The screen flashed, and my name appeared atop a list of students. '#1 Kyousuke Watanabe - Villain Points: 62, Rescue Points: 20' is what that section of the table read. Below me were several names, but I only recognized the one directly under my own. #2 Katsuki Bakugou - Villain Points: 70, Rescue Points: 0'

That in itself added a stupid amount of satisfaction to All Might's next words. " **Kyousuke Watanabe, not only have you been accepted into U.A. High School, you have scored the highest exam score for this year! Welcome, to the hero academia!"** With a bow, All Might waved farewell, and the projection flickered out.

I sat there, stunned, for I don't know how long. Gremlin broke me out of my stupor when he crawled out from under my arms and disappeared to his food bowl. I numbly fished my phone out of the pockets of my sweatpants. The phone rang a few times before the call clicked over. "Hello?" came an elderly voice from the other end.

My throat choked up, and tears began to well in my eyes. "Gran, I made it in." I sniffled and wiped my nose. "I made it into U.A.!"

That was the night my story truly began.

* * *

 **So yeah, that's the chapter. Hope you all enjoy! Watch out for the next one on Nov 15th! Please leave a review so I can fix any and all of my dreadful mistakes!**

* * *

 ****Edited 7/14/19****


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everybody, the third chapter of Just Another Hero is here! I'm hyped to get the chapter out and thank you to everybody who followed and favorited the story!**

 **Specific shout out to Reversus12 for reviewing, because it really helps keep me motivated and I super appreciate the support!**

 **Now, in terms of the story, I only have one note about this chapter. I realized that since this story is done from Kyou's perspective, he'd done a very poor job describing himself. Indulge me here at the beginning, because the character description is a bit forced. I only put it there so that you guys could have more of an idea of what the protagonist looked like. Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

 _ **Beep, Beep, Beep.**_

The world, which was previously so warm and quiet, was split apart by the infernal _beeps_ of my alarm clock. Groaning, I pushed the covers off of my bed, and slapped my hand across the clock. I sat there for a few more minutes, contemplating getting up. Regardless of who you were, or what school you attended, no student was excited to get up for school.

It had been three weeks since I had been accepted into U.A. High School as the top ranked student on the exam. There had been more than a few tears after I called Gran and let her hear the results, all of them joyful tears though. Even though I had let Gran know about my status, I still hadn't texted any of my new friends the news. I knew that Kirishima had seen the list, mostly because he complained about coming in third place over our text messages. I hadn't had a chance to hang out with anyone over break because we'd all been so busy preparing for U.A.

After a while of procrastinating in my bed, I dragged myself out into my morning ritual. I fed Gremlin and started some eggs while I brushed my teeth. Making my way back to the bathroom, I looked myself in the mirror. My dark eyes, darker skin, and pale green hair clashed horribly, enough to where I had actually considered dying my hair. A long scar split the inner half of my left arm in half, winding its way from my wrist to halfway up my bicep. Since I hadn't dressed yet, my torso was still bare. While I wasn't All Might-level shredded, god forbid that ever happens, I was pretty tall and much more athletic than most people my age. My dark complexion accentuated my physique and allowed my muscles to seem more well defined. I struck a pose, flexing with all my might. I looked back up at my face and snickered. My toothbrush stuck out of my mouth like a tusk, and toothpaste dribbled out one side.

I finished up my morning routine and suited up into my freshly purchased U.A. uniform. The fit was a little big, and I couldn't tie the tie properly without Gran around, so the final look was a little too relaxed for my taste. Eh, they can't all be winners. At least these uniforms look decent, unlike a few other schools that I could name.

I put away my dishes and scratched Gremlin's ears before I left. It was going to be a good day, and the beginning of my career as a U.A. student.

* * *

U.A. was no less impressive today than it was when I had first seen it a few weeks ago. Walking through its massive gates as a student instead of an examinee, however, inspired a completely different level of awe. The massive buildings that I was passing were my school buildings. The students who I passed in the hallways were my peers. The occasional pro heroes that walked by were my teachers. I don't think I've ever been this dumbstruck about anything before. This place is the real deal, the best hero school in the country, and it knows it.

After a few moments of searching the first-year building, I found my destination. A four meter tall door with **1-A** declared upon it in red lettering. Even the doors were made to accommodate students and quirks of all kinds.

Sliding open the door, I found a sparsely populated room with rows of desks assembled. There was a podium at the front next to the teacher's desk. The teacher, however, had not yet arrived. Of the students who were there, I only spotted one that I recognized. The spiky blond hair would give him away anywhere. He looked up, red eyes met mine and narrowed in anger.

Bakugou stood up at his desk and flared his palms, allowing small explosions to detonate. "What the hell did you pull to beat me, Salad Hair?" He growled a bit louder than need in an enclosed space. The two other students that were there, a boy with white and red hair and a tall girl with a ponytail, recoiled at the sudden noise. Bakugou rushed forward and grabbed me by the collar. "I had that exam in the bag, and I get home to find that you won!? First that useless nerd passed, and now you're trying to act better than me?"

I stood there, bored. I put my hand on his wrist and tore it away from my shirt. "First of all, you had the combat part of the exam 'in the bag'. The video you received should have clearly explained that they judged us by other factors." I stepped forward and got even closer to his face, repeating my move from the entrance exam. I stared into his eyes and noticed a glimmer of something other than anger. Doubt? Mentally shrugging, I twisted his arm, my grip much stronger than his. He winced in pain. "Second off, we're going to try something new. You're going to go a whole day without getting in my face, and I won't make you look like an idiot again. Not like you need my help anyway. Capisce?"

I chuckled in my head. God, I sounded like one of those old American movies that Pops used to watch.

Bakugou didn't seem to find the situation nearly as funny. He let off a small explosion, not enough to injure me, but enough to make me release his arm. He looked at me definitely, then at the other two who were sitting at their desks. Both of them seemed tense, taken off guard by this exchange but ready to step in if necessary.

Bakugou snarled and sat back at his desk. He looked at me, eyes seething. "Just because you scored better than me, Salad Hair, doesn't mean that you're stronger than me. I can't beat you down to hell any time I want!" He snarled once more and sat back in his desk, pretending to leaf through a school pamphlet. I could see his head hunch as his pride was injured, though, so I let him be.

I turned to the other two in the classroom. "Sorry about that, this guy and I have some disagreements. Though I do think we've come to an understanding." I scratched my head, abashed. "Anyway, I'm Kyousuke Watanabe. Nice to meet you."

The girl stood up, still seeming unsure about the interaction I'd just had, but less than uncomfortable with the resolution. "Hi, I'm Momo Yaoyorozu. It is a pleasure to meet you." She extended her hand, which I eagerly shook. I blushed as I noticed how soft her hands were. There was something about hero training that made people more attractive, though I don't think I could attribute her good looks to just her exercise. Yaoyorozu brushed her dark hair to the side, smiling as she released my hand.

The other student, the boy with white and red hair, merely grunted his name. "Todoroki." He said from his seat at the back. Something was off about his cold stare, and it took me a second to figure out what it was. His eyes were different colors, and they only added to the off vibe that he exuded.

Noticing that the desks were arranged with names on them, I took a seat at mine. Over the next fifteen minutes or so, students began to file into the classroom in larger numbers. When Kirishima and Mina walked in, I nearly cheered. "Hey guys! Long time no see!"

"Kyou!" Kirishima exclaimed as he ran forward and gave a particularly high five. "Good to see you buddy!"

Mina patiently waited her turn to greet me. That is, she pushed forward and pulled as both into a hug. "It's so nice to see you guys since we've all been so busy getting ready for school!" She pulled out of the hug with a frown and turned to face me. "And you, buster, need to text back more often! I swear, you are even worse at replying than my dad!"

I rolled my eyes. Of course. "Sorry Mina, I've just been busy training. Plus, you text at like two in the morning! No sane person should be awake at during those hours." She hunched forward, pushing her cheeks together to feign disappointment. I sighed. "Fine, I'll try to be better about it!"

The return of her bubbly cheerfulness was immediate. "That's what I wanted to hear! Anyway, let's swap stories about vacation!"

I chatted with those two for a bit, until my attention was pulled away by another student. The stern boy from the exam, the one that had told off Kirishima at orientation, had approached a laid back Bakugou with his intent to scold clear. Needless to say, it was going about as well as you'd think.

"Take your feet off of that desk, now!" The stern boy reprimanded Bakugou.

Without me to vent on, Bakugou seemed more than happy to take it out on this boy. He sat back and sneered at him, trying to look as superior as possible.

The boy didn't seem impressed by Bakugou's lack of answer. "It's the first day and you're already disrespecting this academy by scuffing school property, you cretin!"

Bakugou laughed and recline in his seat even further. "You're kidding me right? Did your old man put a stick up your ass or were you born with it?"

That caught the boy off guard. "I-I.." He stuttered. After taking a second to regain his composure, the boy tried again. "Let's start over. I am Tenya Iida from the Somei Private Academy. He said, introducing himself.

Somei Academy? I recognized the name as one of those rich schools up north. It definitely explained Iida's stern attitude and clean cut posture.

Bakugou, if he didn't have reason to already, took this as even more opportunity to sneer at Iida. "Somei, huh? So you must think you're better than me? You're the second guy today to think that." He sent me a glare between disdainful smirks. "And I can actually have fun tearing you a new one."

Iida gasped, taken aback by Bakugous words. "You would threaten me, your own classmate? Are you sure you're in the right place?"

Bakugou looked ready to unleash another scathing personality review on Iida, but the door opening interrupted whatever he had been about to say. As Bakugou looked to see who it was, his eyes narrowed almost as much as they had for me. A diminutive guy with dark green hair and eyes walked into the classroom. As he entered, I heard Iida mutter. "It's him."

I looked around at the rest of the class, and his presence didn't seem to trigger a response from anyone else in the classroom. I didn't recoginize him, but maybe he was a closet badass of some kind?

The boy began to shake nervously and let out a pathetic, "Ummm, hi?" If I wasn't mistaken, his knees were shaking underneath his oversized trousers.

Iida walked forward to the boy, an intense expression on his face. "Hello, I am Tenya Iida from the Somei-"

"Y-yeah, I know." The boy stuttered as he interrupted Iida. "I'm Izuku Midoriya. It's super nice to meet you." He said with a bit more confidence.

Iida looked at the boy with an emotion similar to reverence. "Midoriya, you realized that there was something more to the practical exam, didn't you? You must be very perceptive, and I completely misjudged you. I admit, as a student, you a far superior to me!"

That sparked my interest. This guy had figured out that the exam was something other than combat based? If that was true, maybe he was a closet badass. From very deep in the closet.

Midoriya's expression became exasperated, but he was interrupted by a girly voice behind him before he could speak. "Hey, I know that messed up hair! Falling Boy!" A shorter girl with rosy cheeks and a bowl cut appeared behind Midoriya. "So you did pass the Entrance Exam! Not that I'm surprised, that punch was amazing!" She thrust out her arm to emphasize her words.

Midoriya turned red at the sight of her. "Oh hey, hi. Um, oh my gosh. So, I should probably be thanking you for going in and talking to them for me." He scratched being his head, embarrassed.

The girl stopped mimicking his punches when he said that. "Huh, how'd you know about that?"

He stuttered even more. "Oh, I-I. U-u-um, what?" He garbled out, not sure how to act in this situation.

She saved him from answering by distracting herself with her own excitement. "What do you think we're doing today, besides the opening ceremony? What do you think our teachers are like? I can't wait to meet everybody!"

"If you're just here to make friends then you can pack up your stuff now." Came a tired voice from behind her. From my position at my seat, I couldn't see the figure in the hallway, but I could hear that the voice was much older and much more exhausted than any student had any right to be. It tickled the edge of my memory, but I couldn't quite place it.

"Welcome to U.A.'s Hero Course." The voice continued. I heard a zipping sound followed by the crinkle of some sort of snack food. "It took eight seconds before you all shut up. That's not going to work. Time is precious, rational students would understand that." With that, a long haired man with tired eyes walked into the room. Immediately, I perked up with recognition. He was the proctor at the Entrance Exam! That must have been where I had met him before.

He turned to address the class. "Hello, I'm Shouta Aizawa, your teacher." I reached into a yellow sack that he had been carrying and pulled out several pieces of blue and white cloth. He seemed unfazed by the incredulous stares he was getting from his students. "Right, let's get to it. Put these on and head outside.

* * *

After we changed into our new uniforms, Mr. Aizawa led us out of the main school building and into a courtyard that look equipped for physical hero training. White lines mark the packed dirt ground with a variety of different exercise and activity areas.

He turned to us with a look that gave away no intentions. "Well students, to start things off, we'll be doing a Quirk Assessment Test to see judge your potential."

"What? A quirk assessment test?" The entire class stated at once, all surprised by Mr. Aizawa's declaration

The girl who had greeted Midoriya earlier, Bowl-Cut as she was now labelled, spoke up. "But the opening ceremony, we're going to miss it!" She seemed genuinely disappointed.

"If you really want to make the big leagues, you can't waste time on pointless ceremonies." The entire class seemed taken aback by his lack of sentimentality. "Here at U.A., we're not tethered to traditions. That means that I get to run my class however I see fit. " He looked back at us, his dark eyes meeting each of our own. "You've been taking standardized tests most of your lives, but you've never gotten to use your quirks in physical exams before." He held up a list of different exercises on most basic physical tests, including ball throwing and sprinting. "The country is still trying to pretend that we're all created equal by not letting those with the most power excel. It's not rational. One day the Ministry of Education will learn." Mr. Aizawa scanned our class, looking for one student. "Bakugou, you scored the most combat points on the Entrance Exam. What was your farthest distance throw with a softball when you were in junior high?"

Bakugou glared at me again, annoyed that the fact that he had gotten second on the test was brought up again. He turned back to our teacher. "Sixty-seven meters, I think."

Mr. Aizawa looked like he had expected that answer. "Right. Try doing it with your quirk." He held out a softball to Bakugou.

Explosion Boy took the ball and looked back at me, looking smug. He strode up top the pitch without a care in the world, exuding an entitled dickishness as he did so. He pulled his arm back and released his ball with a scream of " **DIE!** "

 _ **BOOOM!**_

An explosion rocked the air as Bakugou's ball went sailing away from us at an insane velocity. Mr. Aizawa spoke again. "All of you need to know your maximum capabilities. It's the most rational way of figuring out your potential as a pro hero." He held up a small device that had his distance on it. 705.2 meters. As the surprise caught my face, I saw Bakugou smirk at me with a smug look, as if challenging me to do better.

Damn. I was going to have to give him this one. There was nothing in my arsenal that would match that for distance.

The students around me all seemed rightfully amazed at Bakugou's throw. People began to speak out, asking to go next and expressing excitement for the task. As that happened, however, Mr. Aizawa face the class with deathly seriousness. "So this looks fun, huh? You have three years here to become a hero. You thinks it's all gonna be games and playtime? Idiots." Most of the class, including myself, was taken aback by the malicious grin that split our teacher's face, the first real emotion he'd shown so far. "Today you'll engage in eight physical tests to gauge your potential. Whoever comes in last has none, and will be expelled immediately."

That got a reaction from class. Faces fell in shock and people called out against the unfairness of it all. Mr. Aizawa smiled wider. "Like I said, I get to decide how this class runs. Understand?" He asked with more vitriol than you would expect from a teacher. "If that's a problem, you can head home right now."

This guy is intense. I looked around at my classmates, most of the looking crestfallen at the news that they might be going home.

Again, the girl who had spoken to Midoriya spoke up. "But you can't send one of us home! We just got here! Even if it wasn't the first day, that isn't fair!"

Mr. Aizawa looked both annoyed and amused at her comment. "Oh, and you think natural disasters are? Or power hungry villains? Or catastrophic accidents that wipe out whole cities?" He didn't wait for us to respond, knowing he was making his point. "No, the world is full of unfairness. It's a heroes job to try and combat that unfairness. If you wanna be a pro, you're going to have to push yourself to the brink. For the next three years, U.A. will throw one terrible hardship after another at you. So go beyond, Plus Ultra style." He raised a becoming finger, challenging us to do our best. "Show me it's no mistake that you're here."

The class had gone silent at this point. Looking around, I could see that Mr. Aizawa's speech was making a mark. People were pumping themselves up, getting ready to do their best. The teach smirked, noticing the same thing. "Now then, let the games begin."

* * *

The next hour consisted of quirk filled mayhem, with students trying to prove himself to their new teacher and their peers. I did well on most tests, as the majority of my preparation for the U.A. exam had been physical, rather than hitting the books. Unfortunately, multiple students were already showing ways that they excelled. Behind good at everything and great at nothing was proving to be a massive challenge here.

A physical exam where we could use our quirks? I mused to myself while waiting to join in during the fifty meter dash. I scratched my head, trying to think of unconventional ways to use my power. It seemed geared towards people with physical augmentation quirks, of which I had none. I could avoid coming in last place with all the physical training that I've already done, but I didn't have anything that will let me shine in any of the different exercises. Especially not how Bakugou did on the softball throw.

After more than a few other tests, I wasn't the only student who was failing to stand out. The green haired boy, the one that Iida had spoken with earlier, was lagging behind much more than I was It took me a second to recall his name. Midoriya, I believe, was clearly coming in the lowest place in the far majority of exercises, and it looked like he would be the one to go home.

"If Midoriya doesn't shape up soon, he's the one going home." Iida said, as if speaking my thoughts aloud.

Bakugou turned, seeming both angered and offended by the comment. "Of course he is! He's a quirkless loser!"

That caught my attention. Quirkless? I looked at Midoriya, who was staring at the ball in his hand with a furrowed brow. There was no way he could make it here, to U.A., without a quirk _._ My thoughts turned to a teleporting girl with a mischievous smile. She failed, and her quirk was more suited towards hero work than the majority of people here.

Iida's next sentence confirmed what I had been thinking. "He has a quirk!" The stern boy defended, almost exasperated by Bakugou's declaration. "Did you not hear about what he did in the Entrance Exam?"

Midoriya took that moment to move into action. He steadied himself and thrust his arm with all his might. In that moment, I could feel something stir within him. It felt like when I activate a quirk for the first time. There's a stiffness to his quirk, but I can feel the tremendous power behind his throw.

Midoriya brought his arm forward, a look of determination on his face. Right as his hand was going to release the ball, the feeling of overwhelming strength disappeared. The ball released and flew forward with no weight behind it, none of the energy that had been imparted to it was present. It fell to the ground within the boundaries of the throwing area, barely far enough away to compare to anyone else in the class. The robot's voice cheerfully rang out "Thirty-six meters!"

I couldn't see Midoriya's face from where we were standing, but his body went rigged with shock. "W-what gives?" I could hear him mutter. "I was trying to use it just now…"

I perked up. 'Use it'?

"I erased your Quirk." Mr. Aizawa's voice broke through my thoughts. I looked over to our new teacher and froze in shock. His long, matted hair now stood in vertical tendrils all around him, blowing in a non-existent wind. His long scarf flowed like a river of cloth around his next, now raised to reveal the pair of neon yellow goggles that he had been wearing at the Entrance Exam.

The teacher stepped forwards, his red eyes almost glowing with annoyance. "The judges for this exam were not rational enough. Someone like you should never be allowed to enroll in this school."

Most of the students, including myself, stepped back in shock from the teacher's bold words. Midoriya was as stunned as the rest of us. "Wait, you did what to my- " The boy stepped back, his brain catching up with the sight in front of him. "Those goggles! I know you! You can look at someone and cancel out their powers. The erasure hero, Eraserhead!"

All around me, the students began muttering about this revelation about our teacher. As surprised as I was, my attention was still focused on the what Midoriya had muttered about his quirk. As Mr. Aizawa stepped closer to Midoriya, saying something that we couldn't hear, I began to put the pieces together. Midoriya 'used' his quirk, but he doesn't feel comfortable with it. That meant that he lacked experience with his quirk, which would only happen at our age if someone didn't use their quirk at all or if they had only recently acquired a quirk. Based on what Bakugou said, I had to assume the latter. I looked up at our teacher, who looked like he was in the middle of giving Midoriya a vicious scolding. Mr. Aizawa had stopped him from using his quirk, which I could assume the teacher wouldn't do unless the quirk posed a danger to Midoriya or the rest of us. That fit with what I knew about the backlash that came from using a quirk that your body wasn't used to.

Mr. Aizawa turned and walked away from Midoriya, gesturing for him to continue with his throw. Midoriya stood there for a moment, staring at the ground and contemplating his options. The boy pushed a look of determination onto his face and steeled himself, much like he had before Mr. Aizawa had interrupted him. In one fluid motion, Midoriya hiked his arm back and began the motions of release. The energy that had pulsed through Midoriya during the first throw was present here, but it felt much smaller and much more concentrated. Midoriya's face scrunched in pain and exhilaration as he released the ball.

 _ **Shwoop!**_

As the ball left Midoriya's fingertips, it moved with such force that a trail of air filled the vacuum left by its speed. It disappeared into the distance, traveling at a velocity almost identical to the one Bakugou had thrown at the beginning of the test. The robot sounded off once more. "Seven-hundred and five point three meters!"

Midoriya stood with a victorious look on his face, clutching his right hand in pain. Already, you could see the bruised flesh beginning to purple. His quirk really did hurt him to use. Mr. Aizawa was correct in holding him back, then.

Through the pain, Midoriya turned to our teach with a wide, if forced, smile on his face. "Mr. Aizawa." He paused, grimacing in pain. "You see? I'm still standing!"

The other students give mixed reactions of surprise, even Mr. Aizawa himself seemed impressed. I stood still, intently staring at the holder of this mysterious quirk. Izuku Midoriya, where did you get a quirk that doesn't belong to you?

" **HEY!"** Apparently I wasn't the only one with mixed feelings about Midoriya's quirk. Bakugou ran screaming towards Midoriya. " **Deku, you bastard! Tell me how you did that or you're dead!** " The explosive boy ran forward, palms detonating every few feet.

 _ **Thwip!**_

Out of nowhere, a white cloth whipped around Bakugou's head and pulled him to a complete stop. Following the cloth to it's holder, my eyes met the annoyed face of our teach, hair raised and eyes glowing red. Wrapped around his hands was the cloth, now revealed to be a long extension of his scarf.

Bakugou struggled against his restraints. "W-what?" He pushed again, unsuccessful. "Why the hell is your damn scarf so strong?"

Mr. Aizawa pulled tighter, making Bakugou wince. "Because it's a capture weapon made out of carbon fiber and a special metal alloy." He glared down at his student. "Stand down. It would be wise to avoid making me use my quirk so much. It gives me serious dry eye." He released Bakugou and turned away from the students. "You're wasting my time now, whoever's next can step up."

Midoriya looked at Bakugou for a few seconds in fear before skirting around him to rejoin us. The brown haired girl that had been talking to him walked up and mothered over his broken finger. As Midoriya assured her that it was fine, I took the opportunity to look at it myself. The bone was completely shattered, and his capillaries looked like they had all burst underneath the skin. Whatever hidden Quirk he had, it was something strong.

I stepped up to the circle, not waiting for the other students to pay attention. Grabbing a ball, I tried to decide what my best course of action would be. 'Rebound' would be interesting if I had another means to propel the ball at be, and 'Overgrowth' would take care of the job, but 'Amber Flare' was the most efficient solution.

I nodded at the thought and pulled deep within my mind for the fiery power that I had used for a long time. The fingertips of my right hand released the glowing coils that scorched the dirt when they hit the ground. I tossed the ball straight up and swung my arm forward, catching the ball mid-air _._ As I grasped the ball with my whips, I spun. Amber Flare acted like a sling as I rotated the ball, swinging with as much momentum as I could jam into it. Right at the most opportune moment, I released the ball. It went sailing, but I was dizzy from the spinning so I lost sight of it instantly. All I could hear was the robot off to the side. "Three-hundred and forty meters."

I steadied myself and returned to the class. A few people had watched my ball throw, but most were engaged in conversation. Kirishima smiled as I came back to our little group. "Those were some pretty sweet move Kyou, I didn't realize you were a ballerina."

I slugged him in the arm playfully. "Well, it did the job. At least I made it past a hundred meters." I said, referencing his below par throw earlier.

He blushed. "Hey, not all of us have quirks that have a ton of uses! At least I did decent on the grip test!"

As we bantered I caught the eye of Bakugou. While he seemed pissed at Midoriya, he had still noticed my sub-par throw. He smirked at me, knowing he had won this time. I had to let him laugh, because there was no way that I would lose to him again. I knew right then and there, for better or worse, that I had gained my first rival.

* * *

"Alright, time to give you your results." Mr. Aizawa droned, seeming barely interested in his class. The rest of the tests had passed without anything particularly interesting happening. Now, the entire class stood exhausted around our teach, most concerned about the fate of the student who would be going home.

"I've ranked you all from best to worst. You should probably have a good idea of your standing already." He sent a look towards the each of the students who had performed poorly. "I'll just pull up the whole list, as it's not worth going over each individual score." I furrowed my brow, half anticipating that I would be sent home. I knew that I wasn't in last, but I didn't have any super high scores on any of the exams.

Mr. Aizawa clicked a small remote and a blue hologram appeared in front of him. I scanned the list, hoping to see my name higher than most. A small smile split my face. Not number one, but ninth out of a twenty person group isn't bad. Especially not when Kirishima is above me and Mina is one below. My eyes looked towards the bottom of the list, and I felt my stomach sink a bit. My eyes darted over to Midoriya, who seemed to be the one heading home. I sighed.

"And I was lying. No one's going home." The class went silent in shock as Mr. Aizawa's emotionless declaration rang across the field. His face moved into a ridiculously large, if not slightly off putting, smile. "That was just a rational deception to make sure you gave it your all in the tests!"

Cries of exasperation split the air as the class took in the news. Those closest to me, like Mina and Kirishima, had their jaws hanging in disbelief. After failing to smother a snicker, I couldn't help it. I burst out laughing.

Kirishima slugged me the shoulder, seeming a bit embarrassed. "What are you laughing at Kyou? It's not like you knew they weren't going to expel us." He rubbed his hair abashedly.

"No, it's not that." I snickered and wiped the small tear of laughter out of my eye. "It's just that while it makes sense, it's such a psychopath move. That's like threatening to kill someone to see how fast they can run!" I fell into laughter again.

Mine rolled her eyes in annoyance, but a small smile adorned her face. "God, you're so weird sometimes."

"That's it, we're done for the day!" Mr. Aizawa called, breaking off from the class to return to the school buildings. "Pick up a syllabus in the classroom, read it over before tomorrow morning. " He stopped, holding out a piece of paper as he passed Midoriya. "Midoriya, take this and have the old lady fix you up. Things are going to be tougher tomorrow when your actual training begins. Make sure you're prepared."

I looked at Midoriya one more time before he walked towards the nurse's office. He was hiding a quirk that wasn't his, but I had no right to judge him. I was here to get better and stronger, not to go nosing into other people's secrets.

I turned to look back at my friends. Mina and Kirishima were laughing, playfully punching each other as they walked back to the classroom. Sato trailed behind them, making the odd comment that occasionally got a laugh. Who needed to worry about Midoriya anyway? For the first time in a while, I had friends that would take up my attention. All I knew was that my time it U.A. was going to be interesting.

* * *

 **Well guys, that was chapter three of JAH! I hope you all enjoyed it, because it's the longest chapter yet! Anyway, here's my obligatory end-of-chapter request for reviews! If you have any questions about the story and where it's going, pop by and let me know. Also, next chapter will have a fair amount of exposition and actually delve into Kyou's quirk instead of just heavily alluding to it, fair warning. The next chapter will be available Nov 29th, so keep an eye out! This is Rel, signing off.**

* * *

 **EDIT 11/16/18: I fixed some grammar and spelling mistakes, because I'm chock full of them.**

* * *

 ****Edited 7/14/19****


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everybody! It's time for chapter four of Just Another Hero! Sorry I'm like an hour or two late, but I'm getting all geared up for finals, so fight me. Anyway, a few things before we get started.**

 **First off, thank you so much to SlightlyOff7 for that mountain of a review! I really appreciate the feedback and will endeavour to fix the pieces of my writing style that you pointed out.**

 **On that note, everyone please feel free to drop a review after you read through the chapter, as every bit of feedback helps! A special thanks to everyone who followed and favorited the story, it's what keeps me writing!**

 **Now this chapter we'll be getting a much deeper look into Kyou's backstory and start establishing some stuff! *Crowd cheers enthusiastically* Unfortunately, a lot of dialogue and exposition comes with that, so sorry if that's not your thing.**

 **Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this installment of JAH!**

* * *

"I like grapes" - Regular dialogue

" **I like grapes"** \- Shouted or emphasized dialogue

 _I like grapes_ \- thoughts

 _ **Clang!**_ \- Onomatopoeia

* * *

After the quirk assessment test, all of the students headed back to our respective locker rooms to change back into our school clothes. Everyone was shaking off the anxiety that came with our teacher's expulsion ruse, nervously chatting amongst themselves about the different Quirks that had been shown off during the test. Specifically, Kirishima was particularly loud-spoken about other people's 'showy' quirks.

"It's barely fair! Your quirk is laser whips, while I get hard skin!" My redheaded friend complained. He glanced over at a cluster of the guys from our class. Specifically, he frowned at Bakugou. "And that guy! He lucks out with a super strong flashy power, but acts like he got it because he's better than us!" Kirishima shook his head. "I'm normally cool with most people, but he rubs me the wrong way after that stunt he pulled after the entrance exam."

I sighed, pulling my shirt over my head. "If you think that was bad, you should have seen him this morning." I threw on my blazer and sat down to tie my shoes.

"What do you mean?" He asked. "Did you see him on your way to school or something?"

"Nope. When I got to class this morning, he decided to have a 'talk' with me about our scores on the Entrance Exam."

Kirishima straightened his shoulders and tensed up. "What do you mean he 'talked' to you?" His voice was dangerously low. "Did anyone else see this?"

Yet again, Kirishima impressed me with how loyal a friend he was after knowing me for so little time. I felt touched.

I put my hand on his shoulder. "Easy there, tiger. We already came to an understanding on what he would and would not do around me. And yeah, a couple of other students saw me set him straight." I smirked, feeling more than a little proud at the memory. "I think I hurt his pride more than his arm when I did, though. I don't think he's used to having people standing up to his shit."

Kirishima smirked. "Sounds like you handled it like a man, mano a mano!" He pumped his fist.

 _I don't think I will ever understand this guy's obsession with masculinity. It's kinda infectious though._ I looked over at Bakugou, who had also just finished getting dressed. He looked less angry than normal, more a mix of confused and worried. He had been nearly silent since the ball throw. _I feel like I'm not the only one who was bothered by Midoriya's show of power. It sounds like they at least knew of each other well before school began. At least that has him off my back, for now._

"Anyway, Kyou." Kirishima stood up, now also dressed. "I was wondering if you wanted to hang out after school? I'm not doing anything else, and I figured it's been a while." He kept a straight face, trying to keep up a facade of manly detachment. I could see the barest traces of a hopeful grin underneath the front though. The guy was obviously embarrassed to be asking me to hang out.

I smiled. "Sure, I'd be happy to spend some time out of the house." His nervous grin stretched into a full smile. I looked down at my watch. "Though, speaking of, I will have to stop by and do some chores before we go anywhere."

Kirishima pumped his fist. "Sweet! I've been so bored at home lately!" His face took on a sheepish grin. "I know I should probably up my training now that we're actually at U.A., but I think today was stressful enough."

I sighed, thinking about the test we'd just taken. "Yeah, that was something else. Mr. Aizawa really doesn't pull any punches." I shook my head and turned to Kirshima. "So, where do you wanna hang out?"

"I was think the arcade? It was pretty fun when we went last time."

I thought about it for a second and smiled. "Yeah, that sounds good. I could use a stress free afternoon after today."

* * *

"Here we are, home sweet home." I waved my hand forward as I opened the door, displaying my tiny apartment. I only lived two stops away from U.A., so it had taken us just a few minutes to reach my apartment complex. Gremlin wasn't visible, so I figured he'd let himself out through the cat door in the window.

Kirishima looked around for a second, confused. Then a look of realization crossed his face. "You didn't tell me you lived alone!" He said, a look of something between worry and pity passed in his eyes.

I flash of annoyance hit me before my rational side kicked in. I wasn't used to having people over, so I was still a little sensitive. "Yeah, I've been living on my own for a little over a year now." I walked over to be desk and sat down my bag.

"Is it okay if I ask why? Like, are your parents-"

"Nope." I interrupted before he could finish his sentence. A weight settled in my stomach as a look of hurt crossed Kirishima's face. I looked at the ground. "Sorry, man. That's still a sore subject. I don't live with my parents because I don't know 'em. Cliche', right?" I rolled my eyes in mock annoyance. "I used to live with this old couple, but some stuff happened and I live by myself now." I

"Hey, bud, if you don't wanna tell me, that's cool." Kirishima's voice had taken a softer tone. I looked up, meeting his gaze. The look there was definitely pity now. "Your business is your business. How could I call myself a man if I nosed into other people's private life?" A small smirk crack both of our faces.

"No, it's fine. It's not like I have some super mysterious secret or anything." I reached under my bed and pulled out a small tool chest that rattled as I moved it. "If we're gonna be friends you should at least be clued in. I'll tell you while we're out in the garden."

Another look of confusion passed his face. "Garden?"

I reached into the tool chest and pulled out two small pruning clippers and a spare pair of gloves. A real smile crossed my face. "Well, you didn't think I was just gonna let you sit around while I do my chores, did you?" I tossed one of the clippers and a pair of gloves to him. "You're lucky I have a spare, or you'd be doing all the work."

Kirishima caught the gloves and smiled "Well, how could a man turn down work while his friend is in need?" He sat down his bag by my door and followed me out into the walkway. I led him down and around my complex to a small gate on the back side of the main building.

I kept my eyes on Kirishima as we passed through the gate and into my small greenhouse. His eyes went wide when he saw my garden. To be fair, it was worth the shock. Up against the back of the apartment building, I had turned the gardening plot that the apartment provided into a veritable menagerie of plants that were rare in Japan. Vines hung across raised trellises that I hand built over three large plots. Berries and vegetable of all colors filled two of the three, while I preserved the last for my arrangement of flowers.

Kirishima took a second to close his jaw. He turned to me, eyes wide."Whoa, Kyou! This is amazing! Did you do this all your self?" He walked forward,

I preened as he looked at my hard work with amazement. "Of course it's amazing! I work on it every day! Though, no, it isn't all mine." I pointed to the corner of the garden, where I had built another smaller gardening plot. "That one if for one of the younger kids who lives in the building. Plus, the land lord said that I'd have to share if any of the other residents wanted to use the garden."

Kirishima walked all the way around the garden, observing each of my little treasures. "I can't even name some of these! Like what's that flower?" He pointed to a small bowl-shaped yellow flower.

"That's a buttercup. It's native to Europe, and it took me forever to get one!" I looked around. "A lot of these were hard to get, because I had to make sure the government was okay with me importing them."

"Wow, that's a lot of effort for some flowers." He smirked. "Not very manly of you, but I think I 'll let it slide because of how pretty it looks."

I bit back a snarky retort and instead chose to slide my phone into my hand. I snapped a photo of Kirishima daintily holding the petals of the flower like it was the most fragile thing in the world.. _I'll just grab a photo of that for later. Can't wait till Mina sees that!_

Kirishima made his way over to the fourth gardening plot. He frowned when he looked at it. "This one doesn't look nearly as nice. It's all sloppy and half the plants are wilting." He turned back to me. "You said a kid takes care of this one?"

"Yeah, that one's mine you big jerk!" A high pitch voice came from behind me.

 _Ah, that would be Yumi, right on time._

I turned and there was a short girl in a pink and blue blotched dress, dark hair down and a thoroughly annoyed expression on her face. She was a few years younger than Kirishima or I, but she made up for it with the presence of personality that she had.

Yumi strode forward, her short legs going faster than I'd normally give her credit for. She stood defiantly between Kirishima and her plot. Kirishima paled, a fact that was made funnier by the two heads of height difference between the two. She thrust her small hand into Kirishima's face, producing a small trowel from nowhere and pointing it threateningly. "What gives you the right to come into **our** garden and start saying mean things about my stuff!?"

"Sorry, about that. I didn't mea-"

"No, you listen here!" I snickered as she interrupted him. "I work hard on my garden every day with Kyou, and you made fun of it!" She pushed her makeshift weapon closer to his face. "I don't know who you are, but I'm going to tell mom on you if you don't go away right n-"

"That's enough, Yumi." I said as the interrupter this time. _I would be happy to leave her going a few more minutes, but the poor guy doesn't really deserve it._ I walked forward, giving Yumi a smile. She looked at me indignantly, ready to yell at me as well. I rested my palm on her head and leaned forward. "This is my friend, Kirishima. I'm sure he didn't mean to insult your garden, and I'm sure he feels sorry." I shot Kirishima a look and he began to nodded instantly, thankful to be rescued from her tirade early.

"But Kyou…" She whined, looking put out. "He was a big meanie butt…"

"And it's fine, because we're gonna make him work it off." I winked at her. "He came here today to help me prune all my flowers. That way you don't have to do them."

Her eyes went wide and she gasped. " **All** of them?" She turned to Kirishima and gave him a malicious smile. "Well, Mr. Kirishima, I guess I can forgive you this one time, if you're going to prune all the flowers and fetch all the water for my garden." She turned her nose up at him, looking as snooty as a little girl could.

Kirishima shot me a glance, his confusion evident. "But didn't you say I was just pruning the-" He shut up when I sent him a 'just go with it' look. My redheaded friend turned to the little girl and kneeled on one knee. "Thank you for accepting my apology, Mrs. Yumi." The girl blushed at that. "I'll make sure to never insult your garden again."

She smiled, nodded her head, and turned to work on her little plot on her own. Kirishima looked up at me, silently asking what to do next. I motioned for him to follow me. Once we were out of earshot of Yumi, I turned to him. "So, that's Yumi. She's kinda of intense." I scratched my head abashedly.

Kirishima looked like he was suffering a minor anxiety attack. "Intense!? That's an understatement. I thought she was going to skin me with that little shovel! Who gave a kid like that a weapon, anyway? She was clearly going to use it."

"I did, you big baby." I shot her a glance before leaning in. "Yumi's mom and dad split up a couple of months ago, and she looked like she need a friend. Ever since I let her start working on her own little plot, she's been a lot happier."

Kirishima turned glum for the second time today. "Oh." was all he could manage.

I frowned. "Don't look so, she's mostly fine with it now." I gave a college try of a smile to Kirishima and slugged him in the arm. "Plus, I have to bog you down with my own tragic backstory before you can feel bad for her." I felt my smile flicker away for a second before I forced it back up.

My attempt at a joke seemed to work on Kirishima about as well as it had worked on myself. "That's not funny, bro. I didn't mean for us hanging out today to get so heavy." He gave me a sad look.

I gave him a small, real grin. "Me neither buddy. Anyway, let's get to work and then we can take a path down memory lane." I spent the next several minutes explaining the fine detail of pruning to Kirishima, showing him exactly what parts of my flowers to cut, and which ones to not even touch.

After a moment we fell into a rhythm, neither of us talking as we worked. Kirishima didn't seem to want to push me, so I knew it was up to me to start. _Damn, this is gonna be harder than I thought. I've never had to explain my story before. I guess the price of having friends is telling the truth. Most of it, anyway._

"So, sixteen years ago, an old couple named Tameko and Nanada Tahara found out that their son and his pregnant wife had been in a car accident, and had both died." I said, not looking up at Kirishima. I could feel his eyes on me. "Before you ask, no, I'm not related to the son or the wife. The couple was really messed up over the whole thing. It affects you when you lose someone, you know?" I absentmindedly pulled at a weed in the flowerbed. "They took a year and tried to figure out what to do with themselves. Their child had died with their unborn grandchild and daughter-in-law, so they were lonely and sad. At the end of the year, they decided to raise a grandchild themselves. That's where I come in."

I looked up at Kirishima, his eyes curious. He had set down his clippers and was listening intently. "I don't actually know anything about before they picked my up. I was only about a year old at the time. The two raised me, trying to do right by their son by raising a grandchild of their own. To me they were more than grandparents, though. They were more like a pair of really old parents. Pop was this old guy, who loved books and American movies. He had a temper, but he was really nice too. He's the one who got me into gardening." I something wet hit my hand, and realized my eyes were tearing up. I wiped them away and continued. "I'm getting ahead of myself. They raised me through some dark times in my life, when I was trying to figure stuff out for myself. We were happy, in our strange little family. But of course, things never stay that way."

I flicked my eyes over to Yumi, checking to make sure that she wasn't listening. The dark haired girl was happily clipping at her own little garden with a pair of shears that I had given her. "There was a fire at our house. The fire department said it was probably just some faulty wiring that ignited. The fire was a small one, not enough for any heroes to notice. Problem was, it happened while Pops and I were out in the garden, so Gran was all alone inside. We could hear her shouting, and I'd never seen Pops so scared." I paused for a second, wiping away the tears that had continued to accumulate. "I was about to run inside. I-I couldn't leave Gran in there, but Pops stopped me. He looked at me and told me to stay where I was, to stay safe. He ran in and-" I hiccuped. "And I waited for him to come out. I waited and waited, listening to Gran shout. And then I saw him. He was there, his body covered in burned, but he was carrying Gran in a blanket. He sat her down in the yard and laid in the grass. I was talking to him when he died. He wanted to make sure I still wanted to be a hero, even though none had come to save us." I saw Kirishima stiffen in the edges of my vision. I laughed. "Of course I still love heroes. I wouldn't be training to be one if I wasn't."

I shifted my weight, getting in a more comfortable spot. "Gran lived. The smoke from the fire destroyed her lungs, but Pops didn't die for nothing. Gran and I moved into a small apartment for a couple years. We tried to live happy and move on, but Gran couldn't take care of herself anymore. She was too ill. So last year, we moved her into a medical home, and I moved in by myself."

After a moment of silence, Kirishima seemed to realize that the story was done. He did something that surprised me. The big, manly guy pulled me into a bear hug. It wasn't like those half-hugs that guys normally exchanged, but a true, genuine hug between friends.

He sat for a moment and patted my back. "I'm sorry, man. I know that couldn't have been easy to tell."

I broke the hug and wiped my eyes. "No, it wasn't but I'm glad that I could share it. I think that's the first time I've told anyone that much, so it's probably good for me, or something." I shrugged. "I don't know, maybe this is what Gran means be telling me to leave my comfort zone."

Kirishima grinned. "I think she meant that like 'try new things', not 'tell your backstory to the first person you meet at school'."

"Yeah, well, I've never been good at understanding what Gran wants, or any other woman for that matter." I returned Kirishima's grin. I looked around at the flowerbed. "Well, I can finish this tomorrow, I don't think we're getting anymore work done if we want to go to the arcade."

Kirishima stood up. A wide grin on his face. "Thank god, cause clipping flowers is a lot more work than I thought it would be."

"Yeah, well. I figure you get off easy for having to listen to my story." I stood as well. "Well, which arcade do you think we should-"

" **OWW**!" A shrill voice yelled.

I turned and saw Yumi on the ground, clutch her hand. Her eyes were full of tears, and blood dripped from her closed palm. I ran over with Kirishima close behind. "Yumi! What's wrong!?"

She looked up at me, teeth clenched so tight that she couldn't speak. She was crying, tears falling down her face. I took her hand into my own and opened it. Blood began to dribble faster off her finger as the pressure was removed. I looked like she had clipped the tip of her finger off, just before the nail. It wasn't a big, or even crippling injury, but I had to imagine that it hurt like hell for the little girl.

"Oh, Yumi, what did I say about being careful with the clippers?" I sighed, worried and guilty. I looked up at Kirishima, who had blanched from looked at the injury. _I guess I should just fix this now, and let him question me later._

I leaned down and whispered into Yumi's ear as she continued to cry. "Shh, shh, it's okay. Close your eyes." She did so, clenching them in pain.

I placed my palms on either side of her injured finger, rivulets of blood dribbling down across them, and focused. A white light glowed from between my palms, illuminating the small greenhouse. After a moment, I pulled away from Yumi. The blood was still there, smeared across both of our skin, but the wound had closed over and healed, leaving the tip of her finger smooth and silvery with scar tissue.

Yumi opened her eyes with relief. This wasn't the first time that I had healed one of her cuts, but it's the first time she had done something this painful. She looked up at me and sniffled. Not needing word to thank me.

I smiled. "You're welcome." I glanced at her flowerbed. "I think you're done for the night. Why don't you head home, and I finish up before I head out?"

Yumi nodded, biting her lower lip. She stood, leaving her tools behinds, and scampered out ot the greenhouse.

I waited for her to be out of sight, and turned to look at Kirishima. My redheaded friend was standing there in shock. A myriad of emotions crossed his face, but the main one was overwhelming uncertainty. His eyes followed my hands, expecting them to alight at any moment.

I stepped back from Kirishima, and waited for his eyes to meet my own. "Kirishima, I-"

"What the hell was that?" He finally gasped out, as if he'd been holding his breath that entire time. His eyes were wide and unnerved. "That didn't look at all like the energy that normally comes out of your hands. Is it just a different use of your power or…." He trailed off, seeming uncertain.

"I.." I tried to think of how to word my next sentence carefully. "Yes and no. That was a use of my power, but my Amber Flare, my whips, aren't my main power."

"So.." He seemed even more alert now, if that was possible. "..what does that mean?"

"That was, no, that is one of my.." I trailed off. _God, I need to say it, but it's hard to say out loud. Really hard._

I shored myself up, and looked Kirishima in the eye. "That was one of my quirks."

Kirishima went as still and quiet as a rock. It was several moments before he said anything. "Quirks? As in more than one?"

"Yes."

"How were you born with more than one quirk?"

"I wasn't."

Kirishima backed away and sat down on the edge of the flower garden. He stared at the ground and tried to get his bearings. I couldn't blame him. What I was saying went against everything that people knew about Quirks.

I knelled down and gathered mine and Yumi's tools. I took a few minutes, but it was worth it to give Kirishima a moment to breathe. After I had them all safely tucked under my arm, I saw Kirishima's head shift as he met my eyes.

"Kyou?"

I grunted in response.

"What quirk were you born with?" I saw a steel in his eyes, one that required a direct and honest answer to his question. With that, there was no way I could avoid answering any more. I stared into my new friends eyes, understanding that this was something that could, no, would change our newfound friendship.

"My quirk, the one that I started with, steals the quirks of others. Permanently."

* * *

 **So, yeah… ...Surprise? Kyou's quirk is revealed, and it's one that came out of left field. So before someone DMs me, asking why Kyou is All for One's secret love child, I should throw this out in the open. No, he is not related to AfO, and his quirk is not the same. Next chapter, we'll go into a bit more detail about his actual quirk, I just wanted to end it off here because the chapter would be SUPER long if I included the next portion.**

 **Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed! Please review, whether it's a anon flame comment or legitimate feedback, I welcome reader communication. See you guys next time, on December 14th!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! Next chapter of JAH is here! This week is another exposition heavy chapter, but we have fun in the second half, so it kind of evens out.**

 **Anyway, thanks to everyone who followed and favorited! You guys are the reason I write these things!**

 **Lets get bak to the story!**

* * *

"My quirk, the one that I started with, steals the quirks of others. Permanently."

The words hung in the air, heavier than they had any right to be. As I said them, as I put the truth into reality, I could feel the temperature of the greenhouse drop as the air tensed. I stood silently, waiting for the reaction of my new friend.

Whatever Kirishima had been expecting, whatever idea had popped into his head to explain away my quirks, vanished. This was not the answer he'd readied himself for.

Silence flowed around us, oppressive and unmoving.

We both sat stone still for a moment, neither sure how to continue the conversation.

One moment stretched into one minute.

One minute stretched into several.

Finally, after what had felt like at least a dozen of the tensest minutes of my life, Kirishima released his pent up breath.

He turned to me, his red eyes unreadable, and whispered one sentence. "That's not possible…"

I sighed. His reaction so far, one of denial, wasn't the worst possible outcome, but it did still hurt. Instead of responding, I reached my hand outwards, directly above the garden plot closest to me, Yumi's plot.

As my hand passed the threshold, I pulled deep within my mind to the power that felt most natural to me. I silently activated the quirk that I believed to be my most powerful, and the one I held most dear.

My hand made contact with a small flower bud, half withered from Yumi's lack of experience in gardening, and I poured my power into it. Immediately, the small plant began to thrive underneath my touch. The stalk straightened, filling in the wrinkles that had accumulated and changing from an off yellow to a light green color. The flower bud bloomed, its blue-green coverings shifting to reveal beautiful cobalt petals.

I began to speak softly, not meeting Kirishima's eyes. "It's more than possible. This quirk, Overgrowth, belonged to Tameko Tanada. My pops." If possible, my stomach dropped even farther. "He told me to take it before he died. He said that I could use it as a hero, that I could help others with this power."

I forced my eyes up to meet Kirishima's empty one's. His face had lost it's look of shock and had fallen into a reserserved expression of tentative thought. He sat there for a few moments more, silent. I could see the gears turning in his head, the new reality that he was being forced to accept. _This turns everything that he'd been taught about quirks on its head. Finding out that Quirks, which are one thing define a person so strongly, can be stolen must be hard._

Finally, he seemed to come to a decision. His gaze focused on mine, and he spoke with his voice barely above a whisper. "How many quirks have you stolen?" There was a hard emotion in his eyes, as if he was expecting the worst.

"One." I answered as honestly and truthfully as I could.

He leaned back, obviously confused by this statement. "But you have at least-"

"I've only taken one quirk without the expressed permission of its owner." I interrupted, knowing where I had intentionally confused him. It was manipulative on my part, but I needed to get the point of my convictions acrossed. "The rest of my quirks have all come from people who were aware of what I can do, who agreed to give their quirks to me."

"But why would anyone do that?!" He stood suddenly, a fire in his eyes that was angry at the thought of someone giving up their quirk.

"Because every single one was on their deathbed."

That sentence shut down Kirishima. The fight in his eyes left and was replaced by worry and confusion. "Wha… …?"

"Before Pops gave me his quirk, I had only taken one quirk." I elaborated, purposely laying out my story so that Kirishima could _understand_ exactly what my situation was. "When you're a kid, you don't discover you quirk on purpose. Almost everyone has an accident related to the first time their quirk manifested." I saw Kirishima's hand dart up to the scar on his head, obviously thinking of when he had developed his own quirk. "Mine happened when I was four years old. I got into a fight with another kid on the playground. At the time he was no one important, some snot-nosed brat who already had a quirk and liked to pick on those of us with no power yet. His quirk was still really weak, but it hurt to get hit with. And when he hit me, something happened that I couldn't control."

As I was speaking, a placed my hand outwards and pulled on the quirk that I had owned the longest. Orange light burst from my fingertips as crackling energy formed long whips that dragged on the ground. "My body moved without me telling it to. I grabbed him by his head and pulled. Not physically, but with my mind." I shivered at the memory. "You should thank god that you will never know what it feels like to strip someone of something that sets them apart, something that defines them. I still remember the look on his face as he got up. He knew that his quirk was gone before I did. We both cried that day, for the same reason. He'd lost a piece of himself in the form of his quirk, and I think I lost a little of what made me human." I recalled Amber Flare, extinguishing most of the light within the greenhouse. "Since that day, I made sure that I would never take another person's quirk."

I could see confusion cross Kirishima's face again, but I cut him off. "I'm not done yet. You're still confused about how I obtained the rest of my quirks, but I'm getting there." I ran my hand through my hair, trying to relax my tangled nerves. At least the hard part of the story was over. "After Pops died, Gran and I went a long time before we could even talk about him. It was this quirk, this piece of himself, that he had gifted to me that let us move on. I spent every moment I could with it. I treasured this power because it let me connect with him, even if he was no longer really here. After a while, Gran and I spoke about what would happen when she passed." I sighed at the upset look Kirishima gave me. "I didn't like it either, but she was ill. We had just moved her into a nursing home. I had to sit through several morbid conversations with her, including what would be in her will. It comes with the territory of having old people as parents."

"It was a long discussion, but we eventually decided that she wanted to give me her quirk when she died." I sat down and rested my back against a planter box. "Luckily, she's gotten a lot better over the last couple of years, but it was still a conversation that we had to have. And that's all it was, a conversation. Until about a year ago, that is."

"One day, when I was visiting Gran in her room at the assisted living home, she introduced me to one of her friends. She had spoken to the woman, Mrs. Kagu, about our situation. At the time I didn't know what her reasons were, but this woman had decided that she also wanted to give me her power. Later I found out that she has suffered through stomach cancer and was predicted to die within the month. Before she passed, she decided to give up her quirk so that a small part of her might live on. And so, I acquired the quirk known as Healing Touch." I lifted my an open hand, allowing the pale and silvery light of the quirk to race against my palm. It was similar yet completely different to the wrathful light of Amber Flare.

"A few months later, another resident of the home came by to ask that I take his power. His reasoning, however, was very different. Kiita Hareme was a retired police officer who had served most of his life in the line of duty. He had an amazing quirk, Rebound, that could reflect the force of objects that collided with him when he had it activate. Problem was, a bullet that had overpowered his quirk had grazed his spine. This injury triggered something in his quirk that cause him to suffer life-threatening seizures at random times during the day. He asked that I take his quirk to possibly save his life." I closed my eyes, feeling tears begin to fall again. "It didn't help. He passed away about a month later."

I leaned back against the planter. "I only take people's quirks when they offer them first. Of the four I've acquired, I only have one quirk that I honestly regret taking. These quirks aren't actually mine, and I treat them that way. They are power that was gifted to me so that I can fight for those who can't." I wiped my eyes. God, I was so tired of crying. It had been an emotional afternoon and I was spent. I looked up at Kirishima, who was still perched on his seat on the side of the flower box. His brows were drawn tight into a contemplative scowl.

After a moment, he looked at me, red eyes set in a decision. He reached forward, and put his hand on my shoulder. "You said a lot of things today, and I don't know what to say about half of 'em." He declared, eyes tired. He pulled his expression into a slight grin. "I do know some things though, like that you seem to be telling the truth. Anybody who can be a real man and take on that burden is okay in my books."

I didn't know quite how to react to Kirishima's kind words. Normally I was met with apprehension and fear when people learned about my quirk and realized the harm I could do with it. This was completely new. My body relaxed, and I felt the stress of the last few hours wash away. "You sure?"

He nodded. "Yeah, bud. I think you bared your soul out today, and that's something not a lot of people can do."

I felt the ghost of a smile flicker over my face. Kirishima understood how much it meant that he knew about my power and that he didn't treat it like it was something amazing. It was a burden, and one that I'd never wanted. "Thanks man, I needed that."

"I figured." He scratched his head and gave a sly grin. "Just promise you're not gonna take my quirk anyt-"

I slugged him in the arm. "Asshole."

He recoiled, rubbing his hand over the spot where I'd punched him. "Yeah, I deserved that."

I smiled, content with what I'd pulled off today. I had a friend, a real one that understood the burden that I carried. "You know, we still have daylight left, if you still wanted to go to the arcade…"

He jerked up from his spot, pumped and ready to go in no time. "I think that's perfect after all this talking! First Aizawa tires me out, then you reveal your whole life story! I could do with some games." He hesitated. "You sure you wanna go though? You look dead on your feet."

I stood, stretching my tired muscles. I had forgotten the fitness test just a few hours earlier. It really had been a long day. I smiled "Yeah, I want something to take my mind off today, and kicking your ass at games sounds fun."

"Hey, that's not fair! We played at the arcade near your house last time, so of course you had a home field advantage! I'm so gonna win this time, like a real man!"

I shook my head, trying to keep in my laughter. Just a few minutes before the conversation had been dreary and slow, but he had turned it completely around. I had made a good choice in friends. "I hope so. It's more fun being the underdog." I winked.

* * *

The next morning came too quickly. Kirishima and I had gone late into the night at the arcade, with myself far ahead in victories of course. Before I knew it, my alarm clock had already gone off and I was on my way to school. The walk there was uneventful, but it gave me plenty of time to reflect on what had happened yesterday.

I had a someone that I could properly call a friend now, a person who I wouldn't have to skirt around the details of my quirk for. It had never been properly been a secret, as I had registered with the government and told all of my teachers up to this point, but it still wasn't something that I just let anyone know. I had always received hostile reactions from people who feared me, but maybe U.A. would change that. Maybe U.A. being the culmination of quirked individuals that it was would let me stand out less.

Speculation wouldn't get me anywhere and I couldn't know what the rest of my classmates would think until they knew, but a part of me couldn't help but get excited. I couldn't suppress my grin as I walked to class _. I don't think I'll be telling anyone soon, but it would be nice to have more people to talk to about it._

My smile lowered as I stepped into the classroom. Like yesterday, I had made it to class before the majority of my classmates and the room was sparsely populated. Red eyes met mine again as Bakugou turned from his seat. His angry gaze wasn't nearly was piercing as it was yesterday, though. It was tempered by other thoughts, as he didn't even take the time to insult me and instead grunted in my direction when I walked in. _I hope this isn't going to be a normal thing. I don't think I can handle it if I get a daily Bakugou greeting first thing in the morning._

I waved at the other two in the room, the same pair of students who had been present yesterday. The boy with red and white hair, Todoroki if I remembered right, gave a half shrug with a topping of indifference and went back to staring at his desk. The other student, Yaoyorozu, gave a friendly wave and smiled gratefully. It took a second before I realized why. _She must be happy the Bakugou and I didn't get into a fight two days in a row. I can't disagree with her, it would be a drag to deal with that every morning._ I returned her grin and sat down at my seat to wait for class to begin. It wasn't long before others began to trickle into the room, one and two at a time.

Class started in no time at all, normal subjects like english and math flew by. The prestige of having heroic teachers didn't improve the content any, and it was actually a really boring morning. Lunch was also uneventful, though the chef, Lunch-Rush the cooking hero, did come by to check on each of the student's meals. It was kind of awesome to have that level of attention.

It wasn't until after lunch that the day finally felt energized. As each of the student's fell back into their seats, I could feel the buzz of excitement in the air. This period was supposed to be Hero Basic Training, the subject that really set hero courses apart from normal high schools.

The door slammed open suddenly, and a large presence that I had not yet heard in person announced themselves into the room. " **I AM HERE, COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A HERO!** " Called a large mountain of a man with two iconic strand of hair leading him into the room. Bulging muscles underneath a red and silver suit announced All Might, the number one super hero.

The class burst into excited whispers and awestruck faces. Here he was, the Symbol of Peace, right in front of us and about to teach a class. It was hard not to be excited, the man stood well over seven feet and practically glowed with heroic spirit and determination. This man was a true hero, more than most of us could hope to be.

All Might strode forth to the speaker's pedestal at the front of class, moving with purpose. "Welcome, to the most important class at U.A. High!" He announced, turning to face us with his large fists pressed against his hips, striking a muscled pose. "Think of this as Heroing 101! Here you will learn the basics of being a pro and what it means to fight in the name of good! Let's get into it!" The hero reached behind him and produced a large presentation card, that simple read **BATTLE** in bold red. "Today's lesson will pull no punches!"

Immediately, the atmosphere in the room split and shifted. Excited murmurs turned to worry, eagerness, or even vicious anticipation in the case of Bakugou, he nearly stood up at his desk as he excitedly called out "Fight training!"

All Might took no time to take in the reactions of the students though, as he continued with his speak, his flow unbroken. "But one of the keys of being a hero is **looking good!** " He raised his voice and true out the last bit of the sentence as he pointed to the side wall of the class room where several shelves were being deployed from the previously seamless wall. Cases numbered one to twenty were held aloft, displayed behind glass panels. "These were designed for you based on your quirk registration forms and the requests you sent in before school started!"

Whatever reprehension had existed after the battle training announcement left as the class realized what All Might was referring to. Hero costumes! Audible cheers echoed across the class at the thought. Bakugou, for once, looked as close to genuinely happy as I had ever seen him. Mina and Kirishima had stopped watching All Might as they animatedly began to talk to each other about the designs they requested. Even Yaoyorozu, who had seemed prim and proper in the few interactions that I had with her, bounced in her seat.

All Might stepped to the side and motioned for us to come forward. "Get yourselves suited up, and then meet me at Training Ground Beta!" He stepped outside as the class shouted in affirmative.

There was no clean line to get the suits, as students rushed forwards to grab the silver cases that housed our super suits. I reached between Kirishima and Sato to grab the case labelled **09**. I beat most of the other male students to our locker room before I popped open my hero case. My hands shook with excitement. Due to my multiple quirks, I had put in several specification that I couldn't wait to see in reality.

As soon as I saw the fabric, I knew that they designer had done my specifications justice. It was the exact shade of green and the exact texture that I had specified. Ignoring the other guys undressing around me, I began to don my hero costume.

* * *

When I looked in the mirror, I fell in love with whoever had brought my designs to life. Skin tight forest green material covered my upper torso, the long sleeves not leaving any skin uncovered. A single four-sided white star emblazoned over my heart, its arms stretching across my chest and down the left side of my upper body. Tight black pants with padded knees and several pockets connected with white combat boots. My hands wore white gloves with a green strip of metal going across the tip of each finger, a physical augmentation for Amber Flare that I had specified in my notes. For accessories, I went with a green bandolier containing cylinders the size of film canisters, each containing a different plant type for my Overgrowth quirk. A simple visor with a white band and an emerald eyeshield adorned my face. My real point of pride with the long forest green cape that flowed down to my knees. I had always been a fan of the Silver Age retro hero look, and I had tried to show that in my forearm gloves and cape, things you don't typically find on modern heroes.

"Damn, Kyou! You look good!" I heard Kirishima's voice behind me. I turned to see my redheaded friend in a shirtless attire, a choice that added to the bits of costume that he had on rather than retract from his image. Large red gears stuck like pauldrons on his shoulders, and a jagged wrought iron cage lined his face, giving him an intimidating appearance.

"Not too bad yourself, though I do think the accounting office is thanking you."

He frowned with confusion. "Why?"

"Well, you obviously saved in the budget by not including a shirt."

He laughed, taking it to heart. "Well, I figured with the hardening, there's no reason to wear clothes that'll just get shredded anyway." He took a moment to examine my costume further. "What's with the cape? I thought only old folks and show-offs still used them." He said, jabbing his thumb behind him at a blond student wearing egregiously shiny armor, complete with sparkling purple cape.

I flushed. "Well, that's kinda the point. Not the show-off thing, but the old folks thing. I figure my whole thing is that I use the powers of those who can't fight anymore, and I've always liked the design of older costumes, so I thought I'd show off something that would be pretty unique under today's heroes."

Kirishima seemed taken aback, but he grinned. "Wow, I didn't think you'd have a manly reason like that! I just figured you thought it looked cool."

"Well, I do look pretty cool."

As I said that, an angry blonde teen shoved his way past me and towards Ground Beta. Bakugou's red eyes scanned my costume and he sneered. "Not bad, but there's no way you look cooler than me." He said, gesturing to his own costume. I had to admit to myself that the giant hand grenades looked pretty bad ass, and his overall simplistic design gave a presence even more intimidating than Kirishima.

This time, I decided to go for the diplomatic approach. "Yeah, dude. You look pretty awesome. Too bad that bad ass costume isn't gonna stop me from kicking your ass again today." _Did I say diplomatic? Sorry, I meant it in a Big-Stick-Diplomacy kind of way._

He turned to face me completely. Unlike our other interactions, however, his eyes didn't hold a hardened rage. Instead, they were alight in savage excitement. "I'm going to hold you to that, Salad Hair. There's no way I could lose, but maybe you can give me a fun warm-up before I kick that nerd's ass." He turned his nose up at me and strode away.

I turned to Kirishima with disbelief on my face. "Holy crap. Did shit talking actually make him like me? I wish I'd thought of it earlier."

He smiled. "I think that's the kind of person he is. Threats are like compliments when he thinks he can take you down." Kirishima looked around. "Everybody's heading to All Might, let's get going."

"Sounds good."

We joined the rest of our classmates in front of the locker rooms before the large tunnel that led to Training Ground Beta. Everyone looked amazing in their costumes, even one's that wouldn't seem cool to start with. By his odd robotic style of walk, I could tell that Iida was in a full suit of armor. _Was there air conditioning in there? Because I could imagine that wouldn't be comfortable in the summer months._

I turned to look at everyone else, when another costume caught my eye and I had to turn away immediately. Well, to be fair, it was the lack of costume that had me turn away. _How could Yaoyorozu wear something that revealing? I get that female heroes have to work every angle to stay popular, but that's a little much._ I snuck another glance. _Well, I guess I could live with this._

Once everyone had arrived, we walked down the tunnel side by side in an unspoken agreement to try and look as cool as possible. As we left the tunnel and entered the fake city, each of our costumes catching the light, I thought we nailed it.

All Might began speaking as we approached him. "They say that clothes make the pros, young ladies and gentlemen, and behold! You are the proof! Take this to heart, you are all heroes in training! This is getting me all revved up! You look so **cool!** Now, shall we get started, you bunch of newbies?" I felt a tremor of excitement and appreciation run through the class at All Might's words. It was something else to hear the number one hero call you 'cool'.

The class assembled around All Might, forming a half circle so that the pro-hero could tell us what to do next. "It's time for combat training!" All Might called out.

"Sir!" A hand shot up from the suit of armor. It seemed that Iida's interruptions didn't limit themselves to Present Mic or Mr. Aizawa. "This is the fake city from our entrance exam. Does that mean we'll be conducting urban battles again?"

To his credit, All Might didn't let an interruption stop him. "Not quite! I'm going to move you two steps ahead! Most of the villain fights you see on the news take place outside. However, statistically speaking, run ins with the most dastardly evil-doers take place indoors. Think about it." He held up a hand, and began listing off indoor encounters. "Backroom deals, home invasions, secret underground lairs. Truly intelligent criminals stay hidden in the shadows. For this training exercise, you be split into teams of good guys and bads guys and fight two on two indoor battles!."

"Isn't this a little advanced?" A nasaly voice called from the other side of the group. It belonged to a shorter girl in a frog-styled costume that I hadn't caught the name of yet.

"The best training is what you get on the battlefield!" He reproached. "But remember, you can't just punch a robot this time. You're dealing with actual people now."

"Sir, will you be deciding which team wins?"

"How much can we hurt the other team?"

"Do we need to worry about the losers getting expelled"

"Will you be splitting us up based on chance or comparative skill?"

"Isn't this cape tre-chic?"

Rapid fire questions spun off of the group as All Might took as small pause in his speech. The pro hero let out a groan of frustration. To his credit, the last question had me glaring at the sparkling boy. _Way to make capes look like something an asshole would wear. Stop disrespecting the coolest part of my costume._

All Might pulled a small sheet of paper from his belt. It took a comment from somewhere behind me for me to realize that it was a script. "Listen up!" The frustrated Symbol of Peace called out. "The situation is this: The villains have hidden a nuclear missile somewhere in their hideout. The heroes must try to foil their plans. To do that, the good guys either have to catch the evil doers or recover the weapon. Likewise, the bad guys succeed if they protect their payload of capture the heroes." From behind him, All Might produced a bright yellow box labelled **Lots**. "Time is limited and we'll choose teams by drawing lots!"

Immediately, Iida stepped forward to interrupt again. "Isn't there a better way?"

This time, a green suited student stepped up, his stature and voice identifying him as Midoriya. "Think about it! Pro often have to team up with heroes from other agencies on the spot, so maybe that's the reason we're seeing that here."

Iida tilted his head in understanding. "Yes, I see. Life is a random series of events excuse my rudeness." He gave a much deeper bow than I would have thought possible in his armor.

All Might turned away from us excitedly. "No sweat, let's draw!" With that, the hero made his way across the class at super human speed, the box appearing around our hands just long enough for each of us to grab a slip of paper.

I looked down at the crinkled piece of yellow paper, marked with a black **C**. I turned about trying to find who would be my partner when I felt a gentle hand tap my shoulder. "Pardon me, it seems we are to be partners." A recognizable and proper voice said behind me.

I turned to look at my partner, and immediately averted my gaze to the ground. _God damn it. How am I going to battle when I can't even look at my partner._ _This is punishment for shit talking Bakugou earlier._

"Hey, Yaoyorozu.." I awkwardly said to the ground in front of Yaoyorozu. "...glad we'll be partners…"

"Yes, I am quite pleased with this paring."

That got my attention. My eyes snapped up to meet hers, avoiding areas that would get me in trouble. "Why's that?" I said, not sure why she would be excited to be paired with me.

"Well, you seemed quite assertive yesterday morning with Bakugou, and you did well during the fitness test. And you were the number one ranked student in the Entrance Exam. While I did not take it, I heard it was quite difficult. Why wouldn't I be happy with my partner?" She said, a glint in her eye and a bubbly smile on her face.

"No, yeah. That's a fair assessment, I am pretty cool."

She snorted. "Yes, I would say so."

My face reddened. _Here I was trying to play off the compliments and she gives me more! I've never been praised this much before, especially not by someone so.._ I glanced again at her costume. _...intelligent. Yeah, intelligent is the word I will use until I'm sure she doesn't have a mind reading Quirk._

All Might called our attention back up to him by producing two more boxes, saving me from having to continue that conversation. "I declare that the first teams to fight will be…" He rummaged around in a black box labelled **Villain** and a white box labelled **Hero**. "..These guys!"

I stared at the white ball in All Might's hand. _How did I get this lucky? We're up to fight first!._ My eyes shifted towards the black ball. _Team B? Who's on that team?_ I looked around until my eyes met crimson orbs that were alight with cruel delight, eager to take up the gauntlet that I'd thrown down just a few minutes earlier.

 _I stand corrected._ _ **Fighting**_ _Bakugou is punishment for shit talking Bakugou._

* * *

 **Uh oh, looks like Kyou's gonna be getting that fight with Bakugou a little sooner than he wanted.**

 **Anyway, sorry for the last two chapters of heavy exposition, but it had to be done. At least next chapter we'll be having a bunch more action. Also, this is where we start to really divulge from canon, as Bakugou and Deku will not be having their first fight in this arc. I can't wait to see how it plays out! Well, I** **know** **how it plays out, but I'm still excited damn it!**

 **Also, I am officially out of term for school until late January, so you might be getting a few bonu chapters! The two week schedule will always be guaranteed, but I might sprinkle extra ones between them when I get ahead, so make sure to follow so you know when they drop!**

 **Make sure to leave a review, they really help! Thanks for reading!**

 **Next Chapter will be on December 27th.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys, it's Rel back with another chapter of JAH! I was super excited to write this one, as it's a return to exciting combat, but it was really hard to write with the holidays.**

 **Shout out to Raidentensho for the review, because getting one always puts a smile on my face! To answer your comment about the cape thing, well, ;), we'll see. You might notice Kyou figuring out some of the impracticalities of capes in this chapter.**

 **Anyway, please enjoy the chapter, and don't forget to follow so you're up to date on any future chapters!**

* * *

"Kyou?"

"Yes?" I answered hesitantly, keeping my eyes on the blueprints of the multi-story building that we were supposed to be laying siege to in a few minutes.

"Are you attempting to reach a new perspective on the map, or does this just work better for you planning purposes?" Yaoyorozu's voice came across as confused and slightly exasperated.

"Hmm?"

"Well, you are aware that you reading it upside down, correct?"

"Yes, I am aware, at this moment, that it is indeed upside down." I coughed, staring more intently at the paper.

Silence fell for a few seconds. "Is there a reason for this?"

"No, not particularly." I collapsed the map. "I just figured that whatever plan we came up with would be torn apart the second we stepped into the building."

Yaoyorozu's eyes went wide, taken aback by my proclamation. "An why do you think that is?"

"Well, that building contains an anger filled asshole with sociopathic tendencies and on-demand explosions. If that isn't the textbook definition of a wildcard, I don't know what is."

My companion considered my words for a second. "But if we are entering the building under the assumption that any plan will fail, doesn't that give leverage to our enemies who don't need to carry out as sophisticated a goal as we do?"

"Well, you're not wrong." I said, letting out a sigh. "Do you have any better ideas up your non-existent sleeves?"

Yaoyorozu's smile shifted into a fierce grin, and her eyes filled with determination. She held up her hand with her palm up, and a purple-pink light blinked into existence. As it faded, it revealing a large black domed object with several wires criss-crossing the top. "Why yes, I do believe that I have a few tricks in mind."

 _Wow, I need to remember to always be on her team. I never thought I'd feel bad for Bakugou._

* * *

" **ALL RIGHT! LET'S BEGIN THE INDOOR COMBAT TRAINING! TEAM B AND TEAM C, YOUR TIME STARTS NOW!"** All Might's voice echoed far too loudly through the earpieces that he'd given us.

I looked over at Yaoyorozu for confirmation, and she gave me a small smile in approval. I sprinted into the building, leaving my teammate at the entrance. The first part of her's plan was already in effect as we separated. I only hoped it would keep together in the face of Bakugou's sheer stubbornness.

I quickly located the stairway that would take me to the middle floors, the area that Yaoyorozu believed most likely to contain the faux-bomb. The floors and walls were all tiled the same blue-gray material, something that would have easily gotten me lost in the dark and winding hallways if I hadn't already memorized my route. Amber Flare crackled into existence around my hands, bathing the dark corridors in orange light. While having my quirked activated wasn't strictly helpful here, it sure as hell made me feel better when Bakugou could come around any corner at any time. I also made sure to keep my out out for Bakugou's teammate, the frog girl that had spoken up earlier during All Might's instructions. Neither Yaoyorozu or I were quite sure how powerful she was, but we safely assumed that Bakugou was the bigger threat.

As I neared the exact center of the building, I enacted the part of the plan that had me most on edge. I cupped my hands together, and yelled as loudly has I could: "HEY BAKUGOU, I THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO KICK MY ASS? I GUESS NUMBER TWO IS ALWAYS GONNA COME IN SECOND PLACE!" I yelled, feeling dread fill my stomach as I heard explosions begin to sound from the hallway to my right.

I turned around and began to run back the way I came. For good measure, I tossed a few more insults to the walking firework behind me. "I'D KICK YOUR TEETH IN, BUT WHY WOULD I WANT TO IMPROVE YOUR LOOKS?" The frequency and volume of the explosions increased dramatically. The fear filling my brain drown out my normally witty internal monologue with a simple mantra. _Oh shit, run away! Oh shit, run away! Oh shit, run away!_

As I neared a four-way intersection, I turned to face my pursuer. It was imperative that he followed my exact route here and didn't make a wrong turn. As I turned, I caught a glimpse of a familiar grenade gauntlet just in time to swing my head down and avoid Bakugou's incoming blow.

 _ **CRASH!**_

The leading right hook collided with the floor where I had been standing, shattering the concrete and tile below, and leaving a Kyou sized crater in the floor. Bakugou's body flew through the air, landing with a somersault in the hallway opposite me.

The Explosion Boy stood up onto his feet menacingly, taking careful consideration to dust the chunks of concrete off of his shoulders as he turned to face me. His face was twisted in an enrage grimace, and his eyes were crimson daggers that had been sharpened with indignation. "What's the matter, Salad Fuck?" He asked, his tone seething. "You called me out, but then you run away? Looks like someone realizes how outclassed he is."

"Or maybe I just couldn't bear to see you ugly mug again and had to run away in disgust?" I asked, a fake smirk on my face. My internal monologue was still chanting, but I couldn't afford to let Bakugou control the direction of our fight. I retracted Amber Flare to a length barely longer than my forearms. The long whips would be almost useless in the tight hallways, and I didn't want to destabilize the walls with a missed attack.

Bakugou didn't bother to respond to my taunting. With a shout, he pressed both thrust both of his hand behind him in a telltale position and gained lift off. I slid forward and dropped to my knees, but without missing a beat, he redirected himself with an explosion to bring his left fist into the side of my head.

My vision went white and my ears rang as I flew backwards several feet before colliding with a wall. I reached out, trying to find my bearings, but I felt myself being pulled up, hoisted by my cape. As my vision came back, I could see a crack across my green-tinted vision. My visor had been damaged by the impact, and it did nothing to help the nausea and pain of my head injury.

I reached up, pulling my visor away with with the little dexterity I had left. "Wow.." I sighed, knowing that it was Bakugou who had lifted me from the ground. " ..that fucking hurt…"

"You're goddamn right it hurt, you reject." I could hear the savage glee in his voice. Red eyes locked with mine as he pushed me up against the wall. Shards of tile stung my back, but it gave me a chance to find my footing. "To think you talk all that shit and you go down without a fight. At least you're not going to feel it after this next one, though."

Bakugou pulled back his right arm as far as he could, intending to deliver a full body blow to my torso. Right at the last second, however, I pooled all of my concentration into a quirk that I'd still had precious little time to practice with.

 _ **BOOM-CRACK!**_

A resounding explosion tore through the room, followed by the sound of bone shattering. I felt the hand holding my my costume fall away as Bakugou clutched the purpled flesh of his right arm. Shattered chunks of his right gauntlet littered the floor around us.

"FUCK!" He howled, crimson eyes blurry with pain. "What the fuck did you do to me!?"

"Well, you were right." I said, the smirk on my face real this time. "I really don't feel your first punch any more." I craned my neck, still trying to fight off the waves of nausea from my head. "Actually, it's still a pain in the neck, literally, but it's nowhere near as bad as you're hurting."

Bakugou continued to grunt in pain, but his eyes hardened back into their default enraged state. He released his arm, letting it fall to his side, and opened his left palm towards me. "You know what, Salad Fuck? I don't like the way you're talking to me. I'll kill you one handed!" He craned his neck forward, gripping the side of his intact gauntlet with his teeth. As he pulled away, I saw a circular between his front teeth. _Well, shit._

 _ **BOOOOOMMM!**_

An explosion that dwarfed anything I'd seen him output before ripped through the tight hallways. I felt the heat first, before a wall of force knock my on my ass and sent me back to the end of the hall. Chunks of rock went flying past me, each in turn scattering shards of tile across the floor as they broke the wall that I had collided with.

After a moment, everything settled, and I could see Bakugou kneeling a few feet back from where he had let off the explosion. I stood up and dusted off my pants. Holes and scorch marks dotted my torso and cape, and I could feel several bruises already forming. "You know, I'm really getting tired of getting knocked on my ass."

Bakugou looked up at me, and through the pain and anger I saw something that took me aback. He was smiling. "Obviously, you're not tired y-yet. Fuck." He grimaced as he nearly fell. "If you really wanted to stop getting knock down, you'd stop getting up."

"Well, my pops always said they messed up somewhere when they were putting my brain together." I smirked, and lifted my hand, beckoning him. "I guess you're gonna just have to keep coming at me till one of us doesn't get back up." I turned the corner of the hallway, hoping that he would be stubborn enough to follow.

I pulled myself down the hallway, unlatching my cape as I walked. _Guess there's a reason people don't wear these anymore. Too bad._ I sighed as I heard shambling coming up the hallway from behind me. _Damn, he really is a sociopath. Well, cheers to him for coming this far._

The sound of running replaced the shambling as Bakugou picked up the pace. I turned the final corner, ducking into one of the few isolated rooms that existed in this maze of a building. Bakugou was quick to follow, but that was ultimately his downfall.

 _ **Click. ZIIIP! Thud!**_

As Bakugou leapt through the open doorway, ready to finish me off, several black mechanisms around the door clicked into place and launched a white plastic substance, almost completely enveloping the angry blonde. As he hit the ground, confusion filled his features, followed by an angry understanding.

Over the earpiece, which had somehow managed to avoid falling out, I heard All Might's roaring voice. " **TEAM B'S BAKUGOU HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY DETAINED WITH CAPTURE TAPE! THE MATCH IS NOW TWO TO ONE, HEROES IN THE LEAD! "**

"Kyou!" I heard from behind me. I turned and saw Yaoyorozu standing in the shadows, equip with a bo staff and several other black devices. "What happened to you? The plan was for you to avoid injury!" She rushed forward and began to wrap my wounds, sounding more worried than exasperated as she questioned me.

"Well…" I sat down and gestured to the angry package that writhed on the floor next to me, weak wisps of smoke rolling off it's palms. "...your plans met Bakugou." I said, feeling at least a little vindicated.

"You say that as if it explains away everything." She said, her eyes sharp but full of humor. She obviously remembered our talk before the trial.

"It does!" I threw my arms out indignantly. "I totally warned you that Bakugou would ruin whatever plan we threw at him!" I looked down at the crimson beads peeking through the wrappings. "That's a compliment to you, by the way. It took everything just to get you here." I couldn't quite make out the meaning behind his muffled screaming, but I assumed it was just angry curse words and bad insults, so I left it alone.

"Now that you've been all but dispatched, Kyou," Yaoyorozu said, tugging on my freshly applied bandages to bring my attention back to her. "I'm going to have to fight Bakugou's teammate essentially on my own."

"I mean, I took down Bakugou, so I think it's only your fair share of the work." I said, raising my eyebrows.

"Actually, you'll notice it was my actions that brought him down." She said, obviously pleased with herself. Her dark eyes twinkled in the dim light. "You did little more than lure him to the right spot."

I gasped with mock surprise. "Why, Yaoyorozu? How could you use your innocent teammate in such a way!?" I shifted on the tile floor, stopping when I noticed something. Even though I could feel my cheeks go red, I knew that I had to make a joke here. "Well, I must be off to defeat the other villain to reclaim my honor!" I raised my fist, striking a pose not dissimilar to one that Kirishima would make.

"Oh, you will?" Yaoyorozu said, going along with the joke. "Well then, I must see you defeat this villain!"

"I would happily vanquish evil, but something terrible has befallen me!" I threw my hand over my face to mimic shame.

Yaoyorozu seemed taken aback, not sure where I was going with this. "Really? What happened?"

"A terrible witch has stolen credit for my deeds, and now makes a break for my chastity!" I said with a smirk, gesturing down.

Yaoyorozu looked down, and took in the situation. In her rush to bandage the cuts left by Bakugou's attack, she had crawled into my lap to get better access to my midriff and pectoral area. Now that she had completed her job, however, the scene resembled something you would see in a trashy novel or T.V. series.

With the most adorable of squeaks, the uptight girl jumped out of my lap and somehow landed looking completely profession, excluding her red dusted cheeks and revealing outfit, that is. She quickly collected her bo staff and dashed out the door, making a quite excuse about being low on time before leaving.

Even though I was sporting a blush of my own, I knew that the action had been completely innocent at the time. Not everything had to be related to romance, especially things down without thought. _Thought, with someone as pretty as Yaoyorozu, I can't say that I would mind too much if something else happened…_ I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. _No, no. That's enough of that. God, I don't know how I'm going to get anything done in a class of such pretty ladies._

I stood up, grunting with discomfort as I did so. Bakugou's blows had left visible and painful marks on my body, and there was still his partner to go. I looked down at the biggest pain in my ass so far. Bakugou, that is. Not the tile floor. Though that was pretty uncomfortable too. He had stopped writhing and screaming by now, instead choosing to send me murderous glares from between the strips of capture tape that bound him.

"Well, I guess I beat you again." I said, feeling a little dissatisfied with my win. "Not really, because Yaoyorozu helped, but I think we'll get a chance to really duke it out one of these days. And when we do, I'm sure I'll win again. Do you know why, Bakugou?" I kneeled down, looking him in his searing eyes. "It's because I'm not full of myself enough to think that no one here is better than me. Someone is always better than you, and I think I'm here to help you remember that."

With that, I stood up to leave, but I noticed something moving beneath Bakugou wrappings. From around his waist area, his left arms wriggled out from behind the tape, just enough for a few fingers to escape. With a seething rage, he met my eyes and lifted the middle one in a solemn salute.

I snorted. "Yeah, you too buddy." I left to find where Yaoyorozu had run off to. "You too buddy."

* * *

When I caught up with Yaoyorozu, she was midway into a fight with the frog girl. The central room of the building, exactly where Yaoyorozu had predicted the bomb would be, was much wider and taller than the surrounding hallways, allowing much more open combat to be fought. Yaoyorozu held gripped her bo staff with both hands, though she winced as she moved her left shoulder. Already I could see purple bruises forming a circular pattern there.

Frog Girl, who seemed to be fairing just as well as my partner, was perched upon a ridiculously large bomb that I hoped was actually fake. Her green hair, which had been tied in an intricate bow earlier, was now messily displaced and wildly sticking out at odd angles. Her long tongue stuck out the side of her mouth as she panted, obviously still trying to catch her breath.

"Yaoyorozu!" I called out. She slightly turned her head to let me know she was listening, but didn't take her eyes off of Frog Girl. "What's the situation? How can I offer support?"

"She's very fast, much more agile than either of us, but she lacks Bakugou immense power. If we both attack and overwhelm her, we should be able to capture the weapon."

"A straightforward approach, not what I expected from you."

"Is it not satisfactory?" She said, an edge of irritation in her tone.

"Oh, not at all!" I said quickly, unfurling Amber Flare to its full length. "I like it, it's just unexpected."

Her shoulders relaxed just an inch, enough to show me that she had been stressing over this fight. "Thank you. I think we can proceed now that you've made it. Would you be willing to take the left? My shoulder was injured in the first clash."

I nodded, and we started walking forward. The Frog Girl recoiled slightly seeing us move forward, obviously worried now that both of us were here. I began to flank towards the left while Yaoyorozu flanked from the right. By separating ourselves, we were forcing Frog Girl to choose which one of us was the greater danger.

It turned out that I was more intimidating, as a pink appendage whipped forward from Frog Girl's mouth, easily longer than fifteen feet and full of muscle as it collided with my arm. The tongue wrapped around my hand, pulling with all of its slimy might.

"Oh shit!" I yelled as I felt my feet give way, still weakened from the explosions earlier. I quickly swung Amber Flare back, latching onto one of the pillars in the room at the last second. A sickening choking noise came from Frog Girl as her tongue was wrenched the opposite direction of what she was expecting, and she tumbled forward.

As Frog Girl fell, Yaoyorozu took this opportunity to lunge at the bomb, wrapping both arms around it to signify that it had been captured. All Might's loud voice echoed from the ear piece, though I was too tired now to care. " **TEAM C HAS CAPTURED THE WEAPON! THEY WIN WITH A MINUTE TO SPARE!"**

"Ugh." I sat down on the floor and unwrapped Frog Girl's tongue from my glove. It retracted in a few seconds as she got her bearings and sat up. "Sorry about that!" I called.

"It's no problem, ribbit." Frog Girl croaked. "It stretches, but it's really surprising when someone else pulls on it. It was a good move, ribbit."

"You weren't too bad yourself, since you gave my partner a few bruises." I turned. "Speaking of, how are you doing, Yaoyorozu?"

My partner was still leaning against the bomb in a rather undignified manner. She didn't bother to verbally respond, instead choosing offer a thumb's up and to cradle her injured shoulder.

I sat with my back to the wall for a moment and considered what had just happened. Yet again, this school had thrown an obstacle my way and I had conquered it, though my victory was neither as tireless or as easy as I had hoped it would be. I could only hope that I could continue to face the trials that this school offered, and that I would continue to win.

* * *

 **Well, there's another chapter of Just Another Hero down the chute! Sorry for the shorter chapter, but between work and the holidays, I really struggled to get this one written! The next couple should be easier now that Christmas has passed, though.**

 **Anyway, the next chapter should cover the immediate fall out of Kyou's victory, as well as a couple of the other fights. I know how all of the turn out, but I'm still debating which ones I'm gonna go into in detail. Any input on your guy's part would be extremely helpful!**

 **Please remember to follow, favorite, and review! All of those things keep me writing, so it really helps! This is Rel, signing out!**

 **The next chapter will be out on January 10th!**


	7. Chapter 7

**So, uh, first of all, sorry about posting on the wrong day. I totally intended to post this chapter yesterday, you know, the day that I said I would, but I ended up going to bed without even thinking about it. I woke up in a cold sweat this morning and went "Oh no, the readers!". Anyway, the chapter is out now, so please enjoy reading it!**

* * *

"Sit still! You can go join your friends in a few minutes!" The old hag croaked as she pinched my cheek.

"But you already fixed me up! Why do I have to keep wait?" I exclaimed, starting to stand. "There are other fights going on! I just wanna go see them!"

"And I just want to make sure that I healed everything!" Recovery Girl snapped, as she pushed me back into my chair with surprising strength. "Now hold still and let me examine your eyes! Look into this light."

After our fight, All Might and several small droids had moved us back to the main campus and into the office of Recovery Girl, the school nurse. Normally, I was quite friendly with older people, but something about her made me angry. I don't know if it was just her irate attitude or the way that she used logic in her arguments that rubbed me the wrong way. Stupid logic, always getting in the way of doing cool stuff.

"You know, Kyou, if you had just sat still, we could have already been back by now." Yaoyorozu unhelpfully chimed in from her chair on the opposite side of the room. She stretched her newly healed shoulder before covering her mouth to let out a small yawn.

"Well, if this old lady-"

 _ **Wack!**_

"-if this well-aged woman had just let me go, we'd already be there." I said, rubbing the back of my head where Recovery Girl's cane had left a slight bump. The short woman refused to make eye contact as she continued to inspect my body for further proof of injury.

"It's not like I was more seriously injured than Bakugou! Why did you already let him go? That's hardly fair." I said to the elderly she-devil.

"Young Bakugou had a shattered left arm. Hardly a challenge to fix with time. You, however, took several blows to the head. I just want to make sure that you're not concussed." Recovery Girl clicked off the light that I had been looking into. "At the very least, it doesn't look like you're going to be dropping dead on us any time soon."

"Pity that…" I muttered.

"What was that?" The nurse said sharply.

"Nothing." I drawled impatiently. "Does that mean that I can go now?"

Recovery Girl sighed. "Yes, you may go. But!" She shoved me back into my chair as I started to make a break for it. "If you experience any nausea or dizziness, make sure to come back immediately."

"Whatever, Doc!" I was halfway out the door already. "See ya later!"

"Kyou!" I heard an exasperated sigh come from behind me. "Are you not going to wait for me?"

"Sorry, Yaoyorozu. I just had to get out of that office!" I waited a moment to fall into step with her. "I mean, what kind of school nurse freely hits their charges? If this were any other school I might think about a lawsuit!"

"I don't think that would go very well." Yaoyorozu said with a smile, obviously picking up on the fact that I was joking. "Also, you were more than half of the reason that the process went so long, and you did deserve to be hit for that last comment."

"Well, I speak the truth and only the truth." I turned, giving he a grin. "She is really old."

"But you must never comment on a lady's age!" She exclaimed. "It's rude!"

"Fair enough." I shrugged. "Gran always did try to teach me manners. She only failed about half the time."

Yaoyorozu giggled. "Regardless, the U.A. staff deserve our respect. If not because they are our elders, than because they are all veteran heroes."

"Say, Yaoyorozu." I turned, catching her eye. "How'd you end up so proper? You seem so obsessed with manners and always speak with proper grammar. What's up with that?"

"Well…" She blushed. "It was expected of me to be proper growing up in my household. Is that wrong?"

"No, not at all. I was just curious, mostly because no one else here really talks like that." I blanched as she looked down at her feet in embarrassment. "It's not weird or anything! I just thought that it was interesting! It's totally cool if that's just the way you are!"

She looked up from her feet, still seeming a bit nervous. "I guess it is noticeable, considering how informally all of the other students speak to each other." She turned her gaze to meet mine. "Do you believe that there is anything that I can do to make myself stand out less?"

"Um.." This is not where I was expecting this conversation to go. "..I guess the first thing you could do is use people's common names instead of their surnames? Mina does that and she seems to fit in with just about everybody already."

Yaoyorozu furrowed her brow as we walked, clearly thinking over what I had said. She looked up slowly. "Yes, I believe that that approach could work. I suppose I should start with having others do the same in turn." Her haze sharpened. "From now on, you may call me Momo." She extended her hand.

I chuckled to myself. For trying to be less formal, she was approaching this name thing in the most dignified way possible. I took the hand that she had extended and shook. "It's nice to properly meet you, Momo."

* * *

It took Momo and I a few moments to find the viewing room, as we had been in the first fight and had not been there ourselves. When we arrived, however, the class was too enthralled in the ongoing fight to notice us. Every except Bakugou, that was.

As I entered the room, I saw a pair of crimson eyes tear themselves away from the main monitor. He glared at me, and I glared at him. Bakugou raised his left arm, still wrapped in bandages, and shook his head. The message was more than clear. _We're not done yet, and you're more than going to pay for this._

With the obligatory threats out of the way, both of us turned to watch the current fight. One of the villains, a boy with a 'shock' of blonde hair, was engaging both of the heroes. He was standing at the end of a hallway, protecting a set of double doors that led the the mission objective. At random intervals, he would release a wave of electricity to keep the heroes back.

The heroes were two students who I had noticed earlier, but I had paid very little attention to. One was a bird-headed boy who was dressed in dark clothes and an even darker vibe. Perched on his chest was what looked like a humanoid raven, but formed completely out of shadows. The shadow would occasionally dark out towards Lighting Head, but it was repelled by the lightning every time. It looked like the shadow had a hard time attacking directly into such a bright light source.

The other hero was giving Lightning Head much more trouble. A tall boy in a black and gold suit darted around, propelling himself with a tape-like substance that sprouted from his elbows. He would dart in, delivering a few quit blows to the villain before pulling back out. His hit and run tactics were working, but not very quickly. Both Bird Boy and Dispenser together were proving to be difficult opponents, but Lightning Head was keeping up, mostly by virtue of his AOE quirk and the confined space of the hallway. It was a battle of attrition, and neither side was really winning.

I looked up at one of the other screens, and saw the other villain. Sato. He was keeping back in the room that contained the bomb, but he seemed nervous. Every time the lightning went off, Sato twitched towards the sugar-pouch on his belt. He was stuck playing back row because his partner's quirk wasn't productive towards teamwork.

All around me, I heard a sharp intake of air as the class gasped. My eyes darted back to the main fight. Dispenser was pulling as hard as he could on one of his pieces of tape, assisted by both Bird Boy and his Shadow. Somehow, Dispenser had looped it around Lightning Head's leg, dragging it out from under him. Lightning Head was still indiscriminately shocking the air around him, but it did little to the psuedo-plastic that had trapped him. He desperately grasped onto the double doors, but it was a futile battle. As soon as he was within reach, Bird Boy and Dispenser worked together to ensnare him with their rolls of capture tape.

" **TEAM E'S KAMINARI HAS BEEN DETAINED WITH CAPTURE TAPE! HEROES LEAD TWO TO ONE!"** All Might shouted from his position at the front of the class.

I rubbed my ears in pain. How was he louder now than when he had a direct line in to my ears?

Sato jumped into position as the hero team burst through the double doors. The muscular boy shoveled sugar cubes into his mouth, screaming as he did so. Right as he reached the heroes, however, a loud buzzer sounded.

" **TIME'S UP! TEAM E WINS BY DEFENDING THE WEAPON UNTIL THE TIME LIMIT!"**

I watched Sato's face fall as he heard All Might's words. He had sat back the entire match, only to not get to fight at all when his teammate was defeated. Not a lot feels worse than winning by default. His team might have won the battle, but the looks on each of the competitors face's said that everyone had lost in that fight.

It took a few minutes for everyone to return to the viewing room, but All Might called for a class meeting when they did. "Well, everyone, I think there are more than a few things that we can learn from that fight! First off, does anyone have any observations that they would like to share?"

Unsurprisingly, Yaoyor- Momo's hand shot into the air. "Yes sir! While I did not see the entirety of the fight, I noticed several things that seemed inadequate in both team's plans!" At All Might's lack of interference, she continued. "The first is that, the Hero team spent far longer than they should have to defeat Kaminari. When both of their fighters showed inadequate to defeat him in a timely matter, they should have split up, one distracting him and the other searching for an alternate way into the bomb room. The other issue that I have is with the Villain team. Sato stood by during the entirety of the fight, even when his teammate engaged both of the Hero team's members. While protecting the mission objective is important, the most efficient way to do the would have been to disable the Hero team. As there were several entrances to the bomb room, Sato should have circled around and engaged the Hero team's focus from both sides, both avoiding his teammate's unwieldy quirk and defeating the enemy."

As she finished, Momo took a deep inhale. Somehow, she had said all of that in one breath. "Those are my general overviews of the fight, sir."

All Might, as well as the rest of the class, was shell-shocked. "Yes-er, well." All Might stuttered. "That pretty much sums it up. I think there were a few points you missed, but I think you got most of it."

"Thank you, sir." Momo beamed.

I leaned forward and muttered to Momo, "That was pretty awesome!" I extended a closed fist.

Awkwardly, she also extended her fist and gave mine a slight bump. She shelled up, seeming suddenly self conscious. "That wasn't too much? I did go off on a bit of a tangent."

I chuckled. "Not at all, though I do think you hurt their pride a bit." I said, pointing at the members of both Team E and Team I, who all stood dejected at the back of the group. "I think they needed it said, but maybe leave the lecture to the other students for the next one?"

Momo exhaled, pumping herself up. "I believe I can accomplish that." She reached out, trying for another fist bump.

"Sounds like a plan." I gave her a much more epic fist bump than the one she had given me.

* * *

The next fight took place a few moments later. The teams that were announced were Teams A and H, with Team A as the Heroes and team H as the Villains. This time, I was prepared and learned the names of the combatants beforehand. Team A was comprised Toru Hagakure, a girl who was constantly invisible, and Mashirao Ojiro, a dude with a tail. Team H interested me much more, as it contained Izuku Midoriya, the anomaly that had been at the forefront of my thoughts lately. His teammate Ochako Uraraka was a bouncy girl with an anti-gravity quirk. Neither team seemed particularly powerful, especially if Midoriya's quirk was as painful as it looked, but that might make the match up all the more brutal.

Both teams took advantage of the five minute window before the match, but my eyes were glued onto Midoriya. He spent no more than a few seconds discussing with Uraraka before beginning to prepare things in the bomb room that they had been placed in. Unlike the one that Bakugou and Frog Girl, 'Tsu' she had been quick to tell me earlier, had been in, this room was full of random boxes of junk.

Midoriya cleared most of the middle of the room of its contents, before beginning to rummage through the different cardboard containers lining the room. Eventually, he found a metal bucket that seemed to be what he was looking for, because he seemed very excited when he discovered it. With a quick overhead motion, Midoriya scattered the contents of the bucket across the floor. Nails. The area surrounding the bomb was covered in hundreds of small, metal spikes that would be murder to walk across. With a quick glance to the other screen I could confirm his plans. Both Ojiro and Hagakure were barefoot. It seemed that Midoriya really was some kind of closet badass.

Midoriya scattered a few more things around the room, mostly small things that would give away the position of any invisible intruders, before he retreated to Uraraka. The two conversed for a bit before the buzzer sounded, signalling both teams that the fight had started. All Might began to give a play by play commentary, but I couldn't bother to listen.

I lost sight of Hagakure immediately, but Ojiro circled the halls a few times, taking more than a few minutes to find the stronghold. Once he did, however, things began to kick off. Ojiro spent no time bursting into the room, attempting to catch the Villain team by surprise. When he entered, however, he was met with an empty room.

I shot Momo a confused glance. "Where are Midoriya and Uraraka? I wasn't watching when they disappeared."

"Up. Right before Ojiro entered the room, Midoriya had Uraraka make them both weightless, and they floated up to the ceiling. I believe they are attempting to ambush him." She said, not taking her eyes off the screen. "Midoriya is doing a fine job at guessing his opponents actions."

I shrugged. "Yeah, I guess he is."

Ojiro slowly began to walk forward, making sure to step between the piles of nails that lay scattered across the cement floor. While his eyes were on the floor, however, I saw a flash of green appear from behind a pillar near the ceiling. Before Ojiro could react, Midoriya was on him. The smaller boy latched on to Ojiro's tail with all his might, but the tailed oy began to buck wildly.

I winced as I saw Ojiro's foot go right into a bed of nails. E shouted, but in that time, Midoriya had positioned himself onto Ojiro's back and had his capture tape out. With a quick loop, Midoriya crudely ensnared his opponent in his capture tape.

All Might winded up, about to shout out the development when Uraraka sped down from the sky opposite Midoriya. She had seen something the the rest of us hadn't, and was rushing to confront it. The anti-grav girl already had her tape in hand when she collided with something solid, presumably an invisible girl, and wrapped it in an adhesive hug.

All Might jumped up at the development. " **IN A TWISTING TURN OF EVENTS, BOTH MEMBERS OF TEAM A HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFULLY DETAINED! TEAM H IS THE WINNER!"**

Relief spread across both Midoriya and Uraraka's faces as the announcement went over the comms. In a few solid moves, Midoriya had made this challenge look easy. Though, to be fair, he didn't have the most dangerous of opponents.

I glanced over at Bakugou, and was unsurprised by when I saw his face. From moment one, Bakugou had made it clear that our unfriendly rivalry was nothing compared to his outright hatred of Midoriya. He face was twisted in the strongest combination of a scowl and a grimace that I have ever seen. Bakugou's crimson eyes were slits on his face. Whatever Midoriya had done to deserve his ire, I hope it was worth it.

In an attempt to distract myself, I turned to what was becoming my favorite pastime, embarrassing Momo. "Hey, Momo. I have a question about quirk functionality."

"Yes? What is it?" She said.

"Well, Hagakure can't turn her clothes invisible, right?"

"Not from what I've seen. I believe she undressed right before the battle."

"Then doesn't that mean that Uraraka gave her a giant naked bear hug just now?"

Momo blanched before her face took on a deep red flush. "W-well… ..I-I guess that would be correct. Why do you ask?"

"No reason. I was just curious."

Momo stared at the ground and whispered something that I couldn't quite make out.

"What was that?" I asked.

"N-nothing…."

I shrugged, playing off her embarrassment. Maybe I should stop trying to change her proper demeanor, it was just too easy to mess with. I watched her toe the ground for a few more seconds before I shook my head and decided against it. The fact that it was so easy to mess with her was the reason that it was fun.

* * *

The last fight of the evening, because apparently the school's resident she-devil of a nurse had made me miss Kirishima's fight, was one that I didn't have too many expectations for. Three of the four of the combatants were people who I hadn't personally spoken to or even really noticed. Mezo Shoji, the mountain of a man with six arms who had crushed the strength portion of the fitness test, was paired up with Minoru Mineta, a tiny pipsqueak with purple balls for hair, to be on the Villain team. Kyoka Jiro, a girl who seemed normal until you noticed the headphone jacks hanging from her ears, was teamed up with Shoto Todoroki, the kid who had basically ignored me two mornings in a row, to be on the Hero team.

Unlike Midoriya's fight, neither team took advantage of the five minute buffer before the match. The Villain team both stood at their positions by the faux-bomb, through Shoji seemed to be taking it much more seriously than Mineta. The grape-headed boy was too busy making heroic poses, and from Shoji's reactions, making less than welcome conversation.

The Villain team wasn't much better. At the very least, Jiro was attempting to have some sort of conversation, but Todoroki seemed to be giving one word answers if he gave them at all. Neither hero seemed particularly enthralled by their partners or their opponents.

When the buzzer sounded, Jiro ran forward into the building and crouched immediately. On the monitors, you could barely see that her ear-jacks had punctured the cement wall, and she seemed to be listening intently. After a few moments, she turned to Todoroki and whispered off some information, probably the location of their enemies, who were still waiting in the bomb room.

Todoroki jerked his head towards the door, forcefully saying something to Jiro. Whatever he had said, Jiro's face fell. She looked like she wanted to argue for a second, but a few more words from Todoroki had her convinced. She turned her back to the hallway and began to walk back out of the building.

"What the hell?" I heard from behind me. Kirishima had apparently scooted forward between fights. "Did that guy just tell his teammate to beat it?" He said angrily.

"It does seem that way." Momo muttered. "I can only wonder what he's planning to do by himself."

"He's going to win."

Both Momo and Kirishima looked incredulously at me. "What?" Kirishima exclaimed. "I mean, I get winning against somebody small like Mineta, but Shoji was super manly during the fitness test! He's way stronger than a lot of people."

"Look at his face." I pointed up to the monitor. "It's hard to see behind his ice mask, but what is his expression like?"

"Nothing." Momo answered, understanding. "He is so confident that he will win that he has no nervousness or anxiety like the rest of us."

"Exactly."

"But what kind of man goes into this with an attitude like that?" Kirishima questioned. "That sounds like a whole lot of arrogance."

"It's only arrogance if he's wrong." I returned to watching the screens. Todoroki had made his way up to the bomb room, and was stood outside of the double doors.

The ice-clad boy stopped for a moment, and placed his right palm on the wall. FRom his fingers, a thin layer of ice pulsed across the walls and floor, covering everything in its wake. Even in the adjoining room, Mineta and Shoji seemed glued into place when the frost made contact with their feet. Shoji was quick on the draw, slipping out of his shoes immediately, and pulling Mineta onto his shoulders. While he now had no shoes to protect him from the ice, his thick socks seemed to be doing the trick.

Todoroki pushed open the door and was surprised to see his opponents not immobilized. In the moment of hesitation, Shoji ran forward, Mineta screaming a battle cry on his back. The smaller boy began to pull the purple balls of of his head, and through them with dizzying speed at Todoroki. The icy hero stepped back, most of the balls barely missing him, when one stuck to his right arm, the one he had releasing his ice through. Mineta let out a cry of victory.

Shoji reached Todoroki right when his moment of hesitation ended. As the muscular man's multiple fists reached out to ensnare the hero, there was a flash of white light, and the battlefield changed. A wall of ice, one the filled the length and height of the room, sprang into existence in front of Todoroki. Within seconds, the ice had encapsulated both Shoji and Mineta, to the point where only their heads remain uncovered. Calmly, Todoroki walked past the two villains, and placed his hand on the faux-bomb.

The room was silent when Todoroki won. In less than a second, he had changed the entire landscape of the battle, and had obliterated his opponents. When I could finally tear my eyes off the screen, the first person I made looked towards was Bakugou. He saw my head turn and met my eyes. There was something there that I had only seen in glimpses in our past confrontations. Bakugou was scared. He was scared because he knew the same thing that I did. Against that kind of power, neither of us could win in a fair fight against that guy.

After a few moments, Todoroki and the others walked in. Jiro looked embarrassed to even be in the group, while Mineta and Shoji both exhaustedly stumbled into, apparently worn out by their icy capture. Todoroki, however, had the same 'icy' expression that he had held the majority of the fight. His gaze wandered amongst the crowd, not particularly caring to stop on any one person. He knew that we were taken aback by his power level, and he didn't care.

"Well, children." All Might quietly said, pulling my gaze to the front of the class. "While young Todoroki did manage to swiftly put down both of the Villain team members, do you have any observations about the fight?"

For the first time, Kirishima raised his hand. With a nod from All Might, he stepped forward. "Well, I have two things that seemed really off in this fight. The first one is that Todoroki did a really unmanly thing by telling his partner to leave. That just isn't right when this is supposed to be a team exercise." Kirishima shot an apologetic look at Jiro, who shrugged.

All Might nodded again. "Yes, that is something young Todoroki did seem to overlook. Some might argue, however, that it was the smarter play to engage to enemy alone when his quirk could easily have hurt young Jiro."

Kirishima seemed taken aback. "But that wasn't the point of the mission! We were supposed to work with each other. Earlier, we called out Sato and Kaminari's team for doing the same thing, so why is it right that Todoroki did it?" Behind him, I could see said members of the team shaking their heads vigorously.

All Might smiled widely and put his fist to his chest. "HA HA HA! That, young Kirishima, is exactly what I wanted you to notice! What young Todoroki did was incorrect, and we should hold all of our student to the same standard!" All Might turned his gaze to the icy student. "Now, young man, can you attempt to work more with your teammates? I believe young Kirishima's second point, and correct me if I'm wrong, was going to be about the moment that you entered the bomb room?" All Might sent a questioning glance at the red head.

"Y-yes sir!" Kirishima muttered, embarrassed.

All Might turned back to Todoroki. "When you entered the bomb room, young Shoji and young Mineta managed to surprise you by escaping your ice. Had your hesitation lasted a second longer, you would have fallen to them. This is where a teammate would be most useful."

Todoroki had the gall to shrug at All Might's words. "Sure.."

Todoroki's lack of real acceptance seemed to put off All Might. He checked the time on the monitor, and suddenly seemed very nervous. "W-well, children, that seems to put an end to our battle trials, and I hope you all learned a lot from the team-"

"Pardon me, sir!" Momo had raised her hand expectantly.

"Yes, young Yaoyorozu?" All Might questioned, seeming impatient.

"As we were not present immediately after our own battle, did you have any commentary for our team or our combatants?" Momo said. I mentally facepalmed. Of course she wanted to get a grade on her performance.

"Yes-er." All Might pulled out a small notebook from his back pocket, and flipped a few pages. "In your fight, I noticed that you and young Watanabi performed your teamwork very well, even if your teammate did sustain more injuries than advised. Most of my notes are for young Bakugou," His gaze flickered over to the blond, who had regained some of his angry demeanor after the Todoroki fight. "And can be discussed with him in private later. Are there any other questions?"

Several hands went up around the class, but All Might glanced at the monitors once more, and his face blanched. "Well, I apologize children! I will endeavor to answer all further questions in tomorrow's class, but we are out of time!" With that, All Might ran out of the room so quickly that I could barely catch the blur of his cape leaving.

After a few moments of staring after our escaped teacher, the class began to disperse slowly. Momo waved goodbye as she headed towards the girl's locker room, while Kirishima and I headed back towards the men's. The atmosphere there was quite and tired. Everyone was exhausted from today's trials, and some were still sulking about their loses. I gave Sato a silent shoulder pat as I passed him, and he wordlessly nodded his thanks.

As I changed back into my uniform, I thought about the day's fights. Out of the fights that I'd seen today, I realized that I might have had the only match where no one left feeling unsatisfied. Even with Bakugou being angry that he had lost yet again, I knew he was happy to have had a chance to go all out. Momo's plan mostly went off, and I think Tsu just had fun getting to show off her frog quirk. I was extremely lucky to get such a good match, and I could only hope to get more in the future.

* * *

 **And there we go! Chapter Seven of Just Another Hero is done! This was more of a kick back and relax chapter, getting to show off the different fights that went on in the background. Hope you had fun reading it!**

 **Several important changes to note in canon:**

 **One, Deku did not fight Bakugou in his match, so he was able to think clearly and approach the situation without panicking. This led to him begin actually victorious, unlike when he injured himself in canon.**

 **Two, Bakugou specifically didn't lose to Deku. While he still had the 'Oh shit, I need to git gud' moment when he saw Todoroki's unfair quirk, it was nowhere near as bad as the mental break he had in canon. This is going to lead to some personality changes to the character.**

 **Besides that, there are some minor things that'll probably come up later (*hint* Sports Festival *hint*), but nothing super major.**

 **Anyway, that was this week's chapter, and again, I am SUPER sorry about the next day delay! Hope you'll all still favorite and follow if you don't review. Have a nice day everybody, and thank you for your time.**

 **The next chapter will be on Jan. 24th. And it will actually be up on the day of this time!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Welcome back to Just Another Hero! I am exactly 42 minutes late to posting this chapter, for a good reason! The past two nights in a rows, some asshole in my building has decided to pull the fire alarm. No one knows who it is, so he just interrupts my writing time for multiple hours a night, with no repercussions!**

 **Regardless, thank you all for tuning in and keeping up with the story! This chapter is a light hearted one, and is mostly just a nice break from the previous two fight filled chapters.**

 **Oh, and I forgot to mention in the last chapter, part of Deku and Bakugou not fighting changes something major from canon. Because Midoriya did not beat Bakugou, he had no reason to try and explain away his victory. That means that Bakugou does not have all of the pieces that he needs to connect the dots of One for All. How this changes things, we will see.**

 **Anyway, don't forget to Favorite, Follow, and Review!**

* * *

"Mrow." A soft rumbling noise sounded from the foot of my bed.

I shifted onto my side, retreating farther into my covers. My pillow was pulled over my head to block out the light the shone between the tiniest of cracks in my curtains.

"Mrrrow." The sound called again. A light thump on the end of my bed signaled an uninvited visitor.

"Go away." I turned over once more, hoping to deter my unwanted alarm, but it was no use. Small lances of pain raced up my leg as tiny knives dug into my ankles, courtesy of my now kneading cat.

"Ugh!" I sat up, and looked at the black and white traitor. "Fine, I'll get your food! Isn't it a little early though..?" I looked over at my alarm clock and jumped in surprise. "Holy shit, I slept in!"

I hopped out of my and simultaneously began brushing my teeth and changing at the same time. "I'm not late yet! If I leave now, I can hit the 7:45 train and still make it there before the bell…" I muttered to myself as I served Gremlin his food, not bothering to get anything for myself. "Stupid old hag. Her quirk totally drained me yesterday, and I bet that's why I slept in…"

I locked the door and raced down the block and around several large buildings until I hit the station. Barely pausing to scan my pass, I launched myself through the crowd as quickly as I could. Like a boss, I squeezed into the last cart right as the doors began to close.

"Oof!" Exhaled a shorter girl as I collided with her and her bright pink backpack. With how crowded the train was, neither of us fell over. The crowd absorbed the blow, keeping us both in upright position.

I rubbed my side where her elbow had dug in. "Sorry about that! I was running late and had to jump on so-" My eyes widened. "Uraraka?"

"Wha-?" She turned quickly at the sound of her name. "Oh! Hi?" She focused for a second, thinking about something. "You're Kyou, right?"

"Yeah, that's what my friends call me, at least." I gave an apologetic grin. "Anyway, sorry for bumping into you like that. As I said, I was running a little late."

"It's fine." Uraraka waved my apology away. "What I want to know is why we haven't run into each other before? I didn't know anyone from class lived in this part of town."

"Well..." I scratched my head. "I'm used to taking the earlier train so that I don't run into anyone. No offense to you, it's just a habit…"

"Oh... " The short brunette seemed crestfallen and she dipped her head. I silently kicked myself over my instinctive response. Foot? Meet mouth. You guys are best friends now.

After a few moments, the train stopped at our station and we disembarked. Because we had already acknowledged each other's presence and were both headed to the same place, we fell into line next to each other.

I glanced at Uraraka's down expression out of the corner of my eye. What was wrong with me? I could have avoided this awkward silence by answering her question with literally anything else. 'I get to school early because I'm trying to get better grades.' or 'Oh, I don't run into people because I'm secretly nocturnal.' were both wildly inaccurate, but both would have been more acceptable than basically telling her to screw off. It's not like it was her fault that I was used to dodging other students to and from school because people like to start shit after finding out about my quirk. Fear makes people dumb, and I was used to compensating for that.

"Hey…" Uraraka's concerned tone pulled me from my thoughts.

"Yeah?" I said in an overly gentle tone, trying to seem more approachable than my blunder earlier.

"I was just wondering, and I don't want it to come off as weird or anything, but.." She paused and considered her words before she steeled herself. "I noticed on the first day of school, back during Mr. Aizawa's exam, you kept giving Deku weird looks? I don't know if you have any issues with him or anything, but he's a really nice person."

"Dek-" I thought for a second. "You mean Midoriya?"

She nodded.

I sighed. Why did this girl keeping having to ask questions that I didn't want to answer? SHe was really making it difficult for me here.

"Well.." I started without really knowing what I was going to say. In the end, I settled on as much of the truth as I wanted to give. "I just thought it was odd that he hadn't used his quirk at all, until I actually saw him use it. And after I did, I thought it was weird that someone's quirk would hurt them that much."

"I guess that makes sense…" Uraraka seemed to accept my answer. "I'm sorry if I was a little rude about that, but after hearing about how much Bakugou talks bad about him, I got a little worried."

And cue the bad feelings. Her worries were founded on vibes that I completely believed I put out. It wasn't her fault that something suspicious was going on with Midoriya's quirk. It was totally reasonable to think I disliked him, even if that wasn't entirely true. I didn't really have any feelings one way or another towards the guy.

"It's no big deal." I finally shrugged. I turned to her, trying to think of a way to turn this conversation towards any other topic. I grinned as I settled on going the 'Momo Route of Embarrassment'. "You were just looking out for your boyfriend after all."

At the oh-so-dreaded B-word, Uraraka dead stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. I watched as the gears turned in her head. Her entire face and neck flushed with embarrassment, and her brain seemed to shut down. "B-b-b-b-b-boyfriend!?" She squeaked out.

"Well, yeah. Aren't you two dating or something?" I asked, feigning innocence. "I thought it was really early to be doing anything like that, cause it's like the third day of school, but good for you guys! It's really special when love at first sight is involved."

Uraraka's brain, while already broken, melted into a muddled mess after that comment. "L-love? B-boyfriend? DEKU?!" She almost shouted the last one incredulously. "I'm not- I mean, we're not- Deku and I aren't like that!"

"Oh. Really?" I turned my head from her to cover my snickering. I took a second to regain my composure. "That's such a shame. Why wouldn't you want to date Midoriya? I don't really know him, but he seems like 'a really nice person'." I said, quoting her from just a few minutes ago.

"It's not that I wouldn't want to date-" Uraraka clammed up and looked around desperately. "Oh hey, look! Literally anything else!" She exhaled, pointing towards a crowd of people that had congregated in front of us.

At this point, we were right outside of the school and a large gathering of people with cameras and boom mics were blocking the main gate. Overly make-uped women in business suits stood in front of twenty something camera-men, questioning each student that entered the school. All-in-all, the situation smelled of desperation and social hunger.

"It's the paparazzi." I sighed, disappointed at the sight of them. "It figures they would be here."

"What do you mean?" Uraraka question, grateful for the change of topic. "U.A. is famous as a school, but I don't know why so many people would suddenly be here."

"Think about it. What high profile event might make reporters flock to U.A. for a story that happened this school year, specifically?"

Realization crossed her face. "Oh. All Might."

"Yep. And as long as he's here, people are going to want to write any amount of different stories about the world's greatest hero."

"So what do we do?" She asked.

"Ignore them." I shrugged. "If we don't answer them, nothing bad can happen and we won't give them any words to misconstrue."

"But that's seems rude…" She said, anxious.

"Hey, you there!" A reporter woman shouted as we entered their proximity. "Are you All Might's students?"

I leaned toward Uraraka. "Your choice, but I'm going in my way." I straightened my blazer and strode forward, refusing to make eye contact any one of the reporters. The crowd parted in front of me, and I was soon in the front gate.

"Rude kid.." I heard the same woman who had tried to question me mutter. She turned to badger Uraraka. "What about you? Are you in All Might's class? What kind of teacher is he?" She fired off questions, barely pausing to breathe in between them.

"I'm- " Uraraka started to answer, but I saw she looked down the path at me, and I nodded. She shut her mouth, lifted her chin, and walked forward in the same way that I had. In just a few moments, she was at my side and we were walking to class with a minor spirit of victory.

"Thanks, Kyou." Uraraka muttered out as we near class. "The reporters weren't really that scary or anything, but thanks for the advice."

"It's no problem." I gave a slight grin. This friendship had developed a lot in just a few minutes, and I wasn't at all unhappy with that. "I'm used to not answering people's questions. And if you want any advice on that other thing, just let me know." I winked and walked into the classroom.

"What other th- " Behind me, I could hear her brain process the information. "Oh." She followed me into class with a pink face, refusing to even look in Midoriya's section of the room.

I snickered to myself as I walked to my seat. There were more people in class than I was used to seeing. Kirishima shot me a fist bump as I passed, and Mina gave a two-fingered wave as she looked up from her phone. Yaoyorozu actually gave a combination of the two. She held up her fist, and sent me a solid air-bump that I returned heartily.

Bakugou, for once, didn't meet my eyes when I looked his way. In fact, his expression was something that I hadn't seen on him before, some mix between deep thought and pouting. Something was going on there, and I'm sure it had to do with combined forces of his defeat yesterday and Todoroki's overwhelming display of power. Those two things had him contemplating something deep. My eyes flicked over to Todoroki, who still wore his icy expression and stared blankly at the wall.

All of that power, locked into one disinterested teen. Maybe Bakugou wasn't the only one who should be contemplating his standing in the class.

* * *

It took a few minutes for Aizawa to enter the classroom. Oddly enough, he was without his iconic yellow sleeping bag. As the teacher walked in, all conversation ceased.

Mr. Aizawa surveilled the room and sat down a stack of papers onto his desk. "Decent work on yesterday's combat training, you guys." The chronically fatigued teacher sighed out. "I saw the video feeds, and went over each of your team's results. Ojiro and Hagakure," Mr. Aizawa read off of a sheet in front of him. "You two need to work more on overcoming obvious obstacles. You were easily overpowered when a basic counter to your skills were met."

"Yes sir." Was echoed by the defeated teens.

"Midoriya, good job taking down an opponent without breaking yourself with your quirk." The green-haired youth perked up. "However, not using your quirk is not the logical way to defeat your enemies. You still need to learn how to master your power."

"Right!" While Midoriya was taken aback by Mr. Aizawa's warning, he seemed chipper enough about the compliment. I couldn't really blame him, either. His take down had been swift and efficient.

"Bakugou." The blonde didn't lift his face from his desk, but his crimson eyes peered up at the teacher. "You need to stop rushing into bad situations just because you're mad. Your temper caused you to lose. Improve on that, and you might turn into a top-ranked hero." Bakugou didn't respond, but he angrily exhaled instead.

"Those were my most pressing notes, but all of you have several areas that you need to improve upon." Mr. Aizawa in turn made eye contact with each of us, making that we got the full truth of his statement. "Anyway, let's get down to business. Our first task will decide your future."

A momentary sense of panic rippled across the classroom. The last time the teacher had something to that effect, he had threatened to expel one of us. That was just two days ago, and I don't think any of us were completely recovered.

"You need to pick a class representative." There was a collective sigh of relief. Just something that every other school had to do. Immediately, the class erupted into excited shouts and attention-seeking calls.

Kirishima stood up and shouted. "Pick me you guys! I want to be class rep!" Several others fall suite after him, spanning the entire classroom. Everyone from Mina to Bakugou seemed to want to be the Class Rep. While they had good reason for it, the obvious fame that comes from essentially leading a class of future heroes, I couldn't be bothered to raise my hand. Too much effort and spotlight for me, thank you.

After a few more minutes of yells, Iida stood up suddenly from his desk. "Silence, everyone! Please!" He yelled, gaining the attention of the class. Once everyone complied, he spoke in a firm and authoritative tone. "The class representative's duty is to lead others. That's not something that just anyone can do. You must first have the trust of every student in the classroom. Therefore, the most logical way to fill this role is democratically. We will hold an election to choose our leader." Iida raised his hand, as if to nominate himself for the role.

"Is this really this best idea?" Kaminari muttered.

"We've only known each other a few days! How do we know who we can trust, ribbit?" Tsu spoke up.

Kirishima looked around a second, and then made eye contact with me. He raised his eyebrow, and I raised mine in turn. He stood up. "I agree with Iida. I think that most people will vote for themselves, so whoever we choose will be the best, right?"

"Yes, Kirishima!" Iida heartily agreed. "Whoever does receive multiple votes must truly be the most worthy among us!" Iida looked up at Mr. Aizawa, who had pulled his sleeping bag on out of nowhere. "This is the best way, right sir?"

Our teacher laid down on the ground. "Do whatever you want. Just choose before my nap is over."

"Thank you for your trust!" Iida called out. The tall boy pulled out a notebook and wrote down the names of each of the class members. "Here, we can pass this around, and each vote will be anonymous." He marked his vote and passed it on.

As the notebook got to me, I flicked my eyes around the room. I already knew that I didn't want to be class rep, so who to pick? Whoever it was had to be intelligent and organized, deserving of the position. With a single stroke I added my vote to the tally.

After a few moments, Yaoyorozu walked to the front of the class and wrote the results on the board. When she finished, my heart stopped. First place was in a three way tie.

 **Izuku Midoriya - 3 votes**

 **Momo Yaoyorozu - 3 votes**

 **Kyousuke Watanabe - 3 votes**

I almost stood up at my desk. "What the hell?" I exclaimed, looking around. "What three idiots voted from me?"

Almost as one, Mina, Kirishima, and Sato all bowed their heads, abashed. Kirishima looked up at me. "Well, I just thought that you would make a better leader rep I would, cause you always seem to work stuff out."

"Yeah!" Mina threw up a peace sign. "At the Entrance Exam, you totally saved me and Sato's butts, so I thought you had to be a leader!" Sato nodded vigorously in agreement.

My heart fluttered a bit, and I could feel my face flush. "Thanks, guys." I shook my head, getting back in the moment. "I appreciate the votes, but I don't want to be class rep!"

"Why not, ribbit?" Tsu said, tongue slightly sticking out. "Being class rep is supposed to be really good for finding hero work after graduation."

"Because I won't put in the effort that we need for a good class rep. That's why I didn't vote for myself." I looked up at the board. "Momo, go ahead and strike me off the list."

She nodded, doing so. "Now that you are out, however, what will be done about Midoriya and I? We should choose who the vice representative and class representatives are." Momo asked. She turned towards Midoriya, who still seemed to be shocked that he received any votes at all.

Iida stood up, obviously shaken that he wasn't chosen. "We hold another vote where only you and Midoriya are the options. To make it fair, I will abstain from voting to give an odd amount of votes cast."

The class generally murmured in consensus, and another vote was taken. The results made me smile.

 **Momo Yaoyorozu - 12 votes**

 **Izuku Midoriya - 7 votes**

* * *

The rest of the period passed quickly, with Momo and Midoriya both filling out several sheets of paper that Mr. Aizawa had supplied. It was kind of boring actually, but it was nice to democracy in action.

As I left for lunch, Momo, Mina, and Kirishima fell into step next to me. "So, Kyou!" Mina exclaimed. "I, like, have to know! Who did you put your vote in for?"

I swallowed, suddenly nervous for some reason. "I have no idea what you're talking about." I said, feigning ignorance.

"Oh, come on dude!" Kirishima said "We threw out our own chances at winning for you! Be a man and tell us!"

Momo perked up. "Yes, I am also quite curious. I have several guesses, but I cannot confirm them due to the amount of people who received more than one vote."

"Fine." I deadpanned. "I actually picked you, Momo."

"Really?" She said, taken aback. Apparently she hadn't thought of the most obvious answer. "I had assumed you had voted for Midoriya."

"Yeah, I like thought the same thing." Mina said

That put me off. "What? Why would you think that?"

"Well, dude, you spend like half your time staring at the guy." Kirishima piped up. "We just kind of assumed, well, you know?" He struggled.

"Know what?" Both Momo and Mina flushed slightly when I glanced at them. "What should I kno-" Then it hit me. I had had the exact same conversation just a few hours earlier, but now I was on the reverse end of it. "Oh."

"Yeah." Mina snickered. "We all just thought you were g-"

"Please don't finish that thought!" I interrupted. "What the fuck? How the hell did we get here? Not that I think it's wrong or anything, but I am not and have never been interested in anything other than women. Does everyone really think that I'm into Midoriya?"

"No, I don't believe most people do." Momo chimed in. "Only those observant of their classmates would notice, and I don't believe many people fit that bill."

"Regardless, no." I shuddered. "No, no, no."

"We get the point, man." Kirishima sighed. "We were wrong."

"Yes, you all were very wrong. Now let's go get lunch and change the subject, I need to find as many pretty girls as possible to be seen with." I strode forward, leading the charge to the lunch hall. Glancing behind me, I saw Mina and Momo cast offended glances at one another. "Not that you are not both drop dead gorgeous, but I am obviously too gay for either of you to date." I called back snarkily.

Kirishima snickered behind me, and soon the entire group followed suit. Another sidelong glance showed that Momo had a deep dusting of pink across her cheeks, and I felt a sense of deep pride. I'd never had the ability to get through conversations with most people before coming to U.A., let alone tease pretty girls. This place was slowly becoming more of a home to me with each second.

We each got our lunches from Lunch Rush's cafeteria and found a table outside, away from the crowds of student who were trying to eat. The four of us had a solid lunch, with plenty of laughter and fun..

"And then, he leans down and starts caressing the flowers!" I laughed, revealing the photo of Kirishima that I had take just two days ago. The manly redhead's face alight as he played with a pink flower. Momo and Mina burst out laughing, while Kirishima ducked his head down.

"I am never going to your house again, Kyou." Kirishima muttered. "It was a nice garden. Can you blame me?"

"I am quite impressed that you've put an entire greenhouse together by yourself." Momo commented, ignoring Kirishima's shame. "We have one at home, but we have several gardeners care for it year round."

"It's nothing.." I scratched my head in embarrassment. "Just my hobby."

Mina leaned forward, trying to get a better look at the photo. "Do you have any better pics? I would, like, love to come and see it! It sounds so pretty!"

Kirishima shot me an alarmed look, but I shrugged and nodded. "Sure, maybe sometime during the weekend you guys could come b-"

 _ **RIIIINNNNNGGGG! "**_ **WARNING! LEVEL THREE SECURITY BREACH! PLEASE EVACUATE THE BUILDING IN AN ORDERLY FASHION!"**

Alarms began to sound across campus, throwing all of the students into a panic. Each of my group shared each other a concerned glance as we quickly packed our things.

Momo hopped up and approached one of the older students. "What does this particular alarm mean?" She shouted slightly over the still blaring alarms.

The student, a boy with slicked back hair seemed panicked. "That alarm means that there's an intruder on campus! We need to stay out of the buildings and keep an eye out for suspicious individuals!" He quickly ran off, joining a group of his own friends.

I turned towards my group. "We should be fine because we're already out here, but the people inside are going to be rioting to get out." I pointed at the ceiling height windows on the side of the cafeteria to prove my point, Students were pressed together tighter than sardines. "We can't do much for them, but we can stay away from the exits and stay out of the way."

Momo shook her head. "I concur."

"Hey, guys?" Mina's concerned tone called. "Are those the intruders?" She pointed towards a tightly knit group of people making their way across campus. Familiar mics and cameras poked above their heads, making the group immediately recognizable.

"Those are the fucking vultures from this morning!" I cursed. "There's no reason for everyone to be so riled up when it's just the press!"

"Isn't it like, against the law to cause a panic?" Mina asked. "Can't we just beat them up and make them leave?"

"That wouldn't be very manly." Said Kirishima. "They're just normal people, so let's let the teachers take care of 'em."

"I would say that we should warn the rest of the students, but that doesn't seem to be an issue anymore." Momo pointed back towards the windows on the side of the building. All of the students had stopped moving and were now facing something about the exit. Something that looked suspiciously like an uptight student with engines in his calves.

I turned to Momo, grin on my face. "Well, if that doesn't tell you who should be a class officer, then I don't know what does."

* * *

"I think Tenya Iida should be our vice rep!" Midoriya announced loudly to the class.

I nearly burst out laughing. I had said those words verbatim to Momo just minutes before, and her expression told me that she hadn't forgotten.

"Iida was able to capture everyone's attention and get us in line." Midoriya continued, keeping eye contact with his shocked friend. "So I believe that he should be one of the leaders of this class!"

The class murmured a bit amongst themselves. "While it means that the entire second vote was useless, ribbit, I'm okay with it." Tsu spoke up.

For once, I poke up. "I agree, Iida showed that he should be at least helping out with this class, not that our dear leader couldn't do that herself." I winked at Momo.

Her expression seemed torn between one of embarrassment, annoyance, and agreement. "Y-yes. I agree." She turned towards Iida. "Tenya, if you would like to join me, we need to pick the other class officers."

It took Iida a moment to register what had just happened. He quickly stood up. "If Midoriya and everyone else is okay with this, I will gladly lend myself to the betterment of this class and this school!" He strutted forward in a manner that he and no one else found cool.

Momo cleared her throat. "Well, if we may now begin, I would like to choose the first officer." She shot me a look of satisfied revenge. "I nominate Kyousuke Watanabi as our class secretary. All in favor, please raise your hands." The far majority of the class, baring Bakugou and Todoroki rose their hands.

I stood in shock, as people voted me into more work, even after I had just turned down the class rep job. "Well, that's just not fair."

* * *

 **Aaaaand that's a wrap on Chapter Eight! This was definitely a more slice of life and comedic chapter, which it really need to be, considering next chapter will lead into the USJ Attack Arc.**

 **Anyway, hope you all enjoyed, and please review!**

 **The next chapter will be on Feb .7**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey everybody! It's Rel, back with another chapter of Just Another Hero! I have a few notes about schedules and stuff at the end of the chapter so make sure you read all the way through! Anyway, please enjoy and review!**

* * *

After school, Mr. Aizawa assembled each of the new class officers stay after class and go over what their responsibilities would be as part of the student council. Luckily, I got off fairly easily with my position as class secretary, since I basically just had to maintain the attendance sheets and keep track of a couple of things during student council meetings. It was a fairly dry affair, but it didn't take as long as I thought it would. After about an hour or so, people began to pack up their stuff and leave as Mr. Aizawa dismissed them.

"Oh, Kyou?" Momo called as I went to gather my things.

"Yeah?"

She hesitated for a moment. "I was wondering if you had a moment?"

"Sure, what did you need-" I looked down at my phone as it started to vibrate, softly shaking the tabletop. Gran was calling me. "Sorry, Momo. I have to take this." I gave an apologetic smile.

"It's fine." She seemed let down for a moment, but quickly adjust her expression to a soft grin. "We'll just have to catch up tomorrow. I'll be seeing you." She gathered her things and walked away.

I watch her go for a few second before she disappeared from sight. "What was that about?" I wondered aloud. My phone buzzed again to remind me of its existence. I put it up to my ear and answered. "Yeah? What's up Gran?"

"I thought I raised you better than to not call after an emergency. I see I was wrong." A soft but firm voice scolded from the other side of the line.

"Emergency? Wait, you mean the reporters who came on campus? How did you even hear about that?"

"It's all over the news." Gran drawled in a deadpan voice. "Headlines like 'Security of U.A. compromised?' have been running since noon. Honestly child, did you think no one would notice a bunch of vultures getting into a place run by pro heroes?"

I chuckled. "I guess not. Sorry about that, Gran. I'll try to keep you more updated if stuff happens in the future, kay?"

"You'd better!" She exclaimed. I could hear the smile in her voice. "I might just have to climb out of this bed and beat you if you don't!"

"You'd have to catch me first, old lady!"

"Old lady! Why you little-" Her laugh was cut off by a hacking cough.

The line went silent for a moment. "Gran?" I asked hesitantly.

"I'm here." She rasped softly, her voice much more gravely than it had been before.

"I'm sorry about not calling you this week. Things have been busy and…" I trailed off realizing that I hadn't yet told Gran about Kirishima and my breakthrough there, or how I was making more friends than ever. All things she would want to know.

"It's fine." Gran all but whispered, the smile returning to her voice. "You're young. Go have fun with people your own age. It's not healthy for you to spend all of your time with 'old ladies' like me."

"But-"

"Kyousuke." She said sharply. "I don't want you worrying about me. We've already had this conversation. It's noble that you spend as much time as you do with me, but I want you to live without such a burden. Ever since your grandfather passed…" She trailed off.

"Yeah… ...I get it." I said. "I'll try to do better."

"Good." She muffled another cough. "That's all I can ask for."

"But I'm still coming down this weekend, okay?"

"That is fine, as long as you're not ignoring your friends. Plus, some of my nurses are cute. Maybe I can get some great-grandbabies before I go, huh?"

"Graaaan." I complained, feeling my cheeks flush. "You know I'm too young for that."

"I know, I know. A old woman can only dream."

"Love you, Gran."

"I love you too, boy. Now go have fun, I'm sure there's some flower that needs to be trimmed somewhere."

"It's called pruning, Gran."

"Yes, yes. Now hang up the phone, you're starting to act like a teenage girl."

"Alright, alright. Bye, Gran."

"I will see you this weekend, Kyou." The line went dead.

I shook my head and stowed my phone in my bag. "That old lady really is a piece of work." I check my watch and sighed. "Shit. She made me miss another train today."

* * *

After lunch the next day, Mr. Aizawa entered the class with an air of authority, instead of his normal attitude of general exhaustion. "Today's training will be a little different." He announced to the class. "You'll have three instructors. Me, All Might, and another faculty member will be keeping tabs on you."

There was a slight rush of surprise that slipped through the class. Three instructors? Even the most violent training we'd had so far, the hero and villain exercise, had only required All Might to keep us in check. What was so dangerous about today?

"Sir?" A hand rose up from my left. It was the tape boy, Sero. "What kind of training is this?"

From underneath his clipboard, our teacher produced a simple white flashcard with blue lettering. "Rescue. You'll be dealing with natural disasters, shipwrecks, stuff like that."

Just as quickly as the apprehension had appeared, it vanished. People began to mutter excitedly at the prospect of doing something fun. From the back of the class, I could hear Momo raise her hand and begin speaking. "Will the training be in general technique, or in quirk application? There are some of us that have quirks more suited to combat than rescue." She shot a pointed look in Bakugou's direction. He turned in his seat and glared right back. Obviously, neither of them had forgotten about our fight just a few days ago.

"It will cover both." Mr. Aizawa scowled at both of them. "If the class would let me finish, I have something else to say." He glare silenced the room. "What you wear in this exercise is up to you, I know you're all excited about keep in mind that you're not used to them yet, and they might limit your abilities." He turned and released the hidden shelves in the class wall, revealing the cases that held our hero costumes. "This special training is at an off-campus facility, so we'll be taking a bus there. I'll meet you all outside in ten." He turned and left.

There was a familiar shuffel as everyone scurried to get their hero costumes, but I dragged my feet in getting there. I had a sinking feeling in my stomach as I thought back to that last time I had worn my costume, just two days earlier. I let out a groan as I opened my case. Black holes peppered the front of my costume and proved my suspicions correct.

"God damn it." I looked up at Bakugou, who was busy changing into his own costume. "You know, you're a real menace to clothing."

He glanced down at my case and smirked. "Guess your tights weren't burn resistant. Sucks to suck, loser."

"More like they weren't dickhead resistant.." I muttered under my breath as I pulled out my gym clothes. Bakugou shot me another red glare, but I was getting far too used to them at this point. I ended up donning my bandoleer and my gloves over my gym clothes. I would have like to wear my visor as well, but that had a giant crack running across it from where I had taken an explosion to the face.

After a few minutes, we were all suited up and waiting in the parking lot to get on the bus. It was only a few seconds before what was slowly becoming my go-to friend group gathered together. Kirishima, Mina, and Sato all joined me at the edge of the pack, waiting in our own little clique.

It wasn't long before Momo walked up. "Hello, everyone." She greeted kindly. "I'm getting everyone ready to board the bus, so I need you to help me form a single file line so that things will go smoothly." Even though she was wearing her hero costume, I manage to keep from turning away in embarrassment. I was very proud of myself.

Kirishima grinned. "There's our class rep, already doing work!"

Momo flushed slightly. "Yes, well, I am attempting to do my best. Though not nearly as much as Tenya would have liked."

"Is Iida giving you a hard time, or something?" I asked, stepping forward.

She stepped back a little, surprised. "No, not at all. He is just, well, a bit overzealous to put it bluntly. He wanted to do a full boarding plan, complete with seat assignments and ordered boarding." She chuckled softly and lifted a small white whistle. "I actually had to take this from him before he started barking orders at people."

"That does sound like him!" Mina exclaimed. "He's, like, so serious all the time!" Sato nodded in agreement.

"Well, it's not all bad. At least the bus is here now." I pointed at the approaching vehicle.

"That is my cue." Momo walked away from us and gathered the other students. Within a few minutes, we had all boarded and were on our way to the off-campus facility.

Kirishima and Mina both took spots in an open seating area in the middle of the bus, but I stole a window seat towards the back. It was a habit that was hard to kick. Surprisingly, Momo plunked down in the aisle seat next to me.

"Hey, class rep." I greeted. "Shouldn't you be sitting amongst your people?" I pointed toward the center of the bus, where people had started an animated conversation about cool quirks.

She let out a long sigh. "Absolutely not. I wanted the job because I am qualified for it, but dealing with people is quite exhausting.

"And that's exactly the reason I said no to it!" I exclaimed.

"Maybe you are wiser than me." Momo gave a small grin. "However, I do have to remember that this job will serve me greatly in future when I am searching for internships."

"Maybe, maybe not." I smirked. "Maybe I'll get the best internships. Secretaries are really important, you know."

She seemed taken aback. "But, that is simply not the case. In most cases heroes would pick by superior-"

"Momo!" I exclaimed. "I was just messing with you. I'm sure there are plenty of benefits to working hard, it was a joke."

Momo flushed. "I-I see." She coughed slightly into her fist. "It's so hard to tell with you…" She despaired.

"I know." I grinned. "I do it on purpose."

Momo and I spoke for a few more minutes, mostly about trivial topics, when a comment towards the front of the bus caught my attention.

"-Midoriya, your quirk is a lot like All Might's, ribbit." Tsu spoke earnestly to the whole bus.

"What? Really?" Midoriya's face betrayed more panic than surprise. "You think so, huh? I guess it's kinda similar-"

"Wait, hold up!" Kirishima exclaimed. "You're forgetting All Might doesn't hurt himself when he uses his quir-" He stopped.

My redheaded friend looked up at me, eyes wide. His face asked one question and I had to answer him truthfully. I nodded solemnly. He turned back to the conversation that had moved on without him, but his eyes never left Midoriya. I had to admit that I hadn't considered the All Might portion of the theory, but it definitely fell in line with several suspicions that I had. I sighed as I looked back at Kirishima. Several of my actions over the last few days must have just clicked for him, and he was going to have a lot more questions soon.

* * *

The facility that we arrived at was a massive concrete dome that rivaled most skyscrapers. When we disembarked, Mr. Aizawa shuffled us through its wide yellow doors. Inside of the dome was even more breathtaking, as a landscape that look like a disaster themed amusement park filled our vision. There was a wide lake in the middle of this structure, complete with a yacht in the middle, surrounded by alternating disaster zones. At least two small mountains could be seen from the lifted entryway that we stood on, and near the back wall, there was an area with multiple toppled buildings.

"Hello everyone! I've been waiting for you!" A robotic voice joyfully exclaimed. Turning around, I spotted a figure walking towards us in a suit that would not be out of place in a space station. I recognized this hero, but Midoriya's near encyclopedic knowledge of heroes beat me to the punch.

"It's the space hero, Thirteen, the chivalrous pro who specializes in rescuing people all around the world!" He exclaimed, others around us sharing in his excitement.

Thirteen turned and presented their arms forward, as if to show off the park in front of us. "Are you admiring my masterpiece? I created this training facility to prepare you to face every disaster imaginable! I call it, the Unforeseen Simulation Joint, or USJ!"

There was a deadpanned silence as people realized the dumb pun that Thirteen had made. This was the hero version of Universal Studios: Japan.

Mr. Aizawa stepped forward. "Hey, Thirteen, should All Might be here already? Did he skip for any interview or something?"

Thirteen shook their head. "Actually, All Might got a bit caught up with hero work before class, and he won't be joining us today. He's resting in the teacher's lounge." Thirteen held up three fingers.

The sign didn't mean anything to me, but Midoriya jolted back and lowered his head when he saw it. Hmmm. Maybe Tsu's theories hit the nail on the head in one go. Regardless, I couldn't help but feel a little let down hearing that the number one hero wouldn't be showing off today.

Mr. Aizawa considered Thirteen's words for a moment. He turned back to us. "The clock is ticking. Let's get started"

"Excellent!" Thirteen exclaimed. "Before we get started though, I have something to say." The Space Hero took a more somber stance in front of the class. "As many of you know, my quirk is called Black Hole. It allows me to suck up anything and turn it into dust. It is very powerful, and has helped me save many people, but it could also very easily be used to kill. Some of you also have powers that can be very dangerous."

At that, several students looked away or bowed their heads. I was won of them. Each of us with dangerous powers knew that, because we had all had to consider all of our lives. I looked towards Bakugou, and our eyes met. This time, instead of a glare, there was a look of thoughtfulness and shame. We shared a moment that wasn't quite friendly, but we both knew at least a little of what the other felt in that moment.

Thirteen continued. "In our super human society, all quirks are certified and stringently regulated, so we often overlook how dangerous they can actually be. Please don't forget that if you lose focus or make the wrong move, you can kill someone. Thanks to Mr. Aizawa and All Might, you have a better understanding of your abilities and how dangerous they can be. Please carry those lessons into this class. Today, your going to learn how to use your quirks to save people's lives. You won't be using your powers to attack enemies or each other, only to help. After all, that's what being a hero is all about; helping others. That's all I have to say, thank you for listening."

A ripple of pride swept through the class. This was what we had come to U.A. for. This was what we wanted our certifications for. To rescue those who could not protect themselves. A small cheer erupted for Thirteen.

Mr. Aizawa stepped forward, drawing the attention of the class. "Right, now that that's over-" He suddenly shifted on his feet, pulling back into a battle stance. Our instructor turned and stared that the center of the dome, where a nebulous purple circle had sputtered into existence.

The class went dead silent. The purple shape swirled and flickered, suddenly expanding to multiple times its original size. From the center, two yellow streaks emerged, forming an intimidating glare. From it's based, figures of all shapes and sized appeared. Within seconds they were visible completely. Men and women with hardened faces and jaded attitudes walked forth, each brandishing their quirks like weapons.

Mr. Aizawa turned back to the class. "Stay together and don't move!" He shouted. "Thirteen, protect the students!"

A murmur of fear and confusion spread throughout the class. Was this training? Who were these people and this shadowy presence? I stepped back, falling into line with Kirishima and Momo. A few students took tentative steps forward, but Mr. Aizawa cut them off.

"Stay back!" He shouted once more, flicking his goggles up into place. "This is real. Those are villains!" The remaining confusion turned into more fear at those words. We all stepped closer to each other, attempting to huddle for safety.

Echoing across the empty space, a deep voice muttered to itself. After a few seconds, I realized that it was the shadowy entity. "The only real heroes I see are Thirteen and Eraserhead. Perplexing. According to the schedule that we retrieved from U.A., All Might should be here as well."

Mr. Aizawa's head lowered slightly in understanding and anger. "So, you scumbags used the press as a cover and snuck onto campus." He growled.

Quieter than the shadow, a tall pale man began to speak in a raspy voice. He walked forward, revealing a white hand that was attached to his face in the form of a mask. "Where is he? I went through the trouble of bringing so many friends who were eager to meet him. They want All Might, the great Symbol of Peace." He raised his hands in frustration. He continued to complain in his gravelly voice. "I can't believe he's not here. Maybe if I kill a few kids, he'll come out to play." He turned his face upwards at us, making it clear which 'kids' he was referring to.

Next to me, I heard Kirishima speak up. "How the hell did so many villains make it into a U.A. facility?"

Momo stepped forward from the opposite side of me. "Yes, Thirteen, how could the get in here?"

I answered before Thirteen could. "That shadow being's quirk." I looked at Bakugou, Mina, and Sato. "Do you remember that girl from our entrance exam? Her quirk looked similar to this villain's quirk."

Bakugou seemed to forget his apprehension at the approaching villain horde as he thought about it. "Of course I do! Dumb bitch kept stealing my points."

Mina looked at Sato and they both nodded. "Yeah, it was crazy what she could do with that thing. And this villain's version is.."

"A lot bigger." I finished for her. I turned to Thirteen. "That villain is probably their only way in and out, unless you know of any other exits?"

"There's one fire exit, but it triggers multiple redundant alarms when it's opened." The Space Hero replied. "Though I have to assume that they have some way of disabling my alarms, as none have gone off yet."

Todoroki stepped forward. "It is probably one of the villain's quirks. They chose this location and laid out their plan, so they probably have a good grasp about what we can do in our situation. They've thought out their plan and have an objective."

Mr. Aizawa, no, Eraserhead called out. "Thirteen, get them out of here, and alert the main campus. Actually, sense they're blocking the alarms, they're probably jamming our communications. Kaminari, attempt to contact the main campus. "

"What are you going to do?" Midoriya called out from under his green hood. "You can't fight them all at once! Your fighting style and quirk aren't suited for big battles!"

Eraserhead turned and gave us all a hard stare. "You can't be a pro if you only have one trick. I'll leave it to you, Thirteen." With that he turned and jumped into action, sprinting towards the group of villains in a fierce battle charge.

Eraserhead encountered the enemy in only a few seconds, taking many of them by surprise when they attempted to use their quirks. From his hands shot his long scarf, wrapping around several villains at once as he moved. He turned, throwing his weight behind him and swinging the mass of criminals around and into another group of villains. He disengaged and sprinted between another pair, dropping to the ground to dodge before popping back up and striking both villains under their chins. It was awe inspiring to watch our teach kick ass, to prove that pro heroes really were better than everyone else.

The moment that Eraserhead encountered the enemy, Thirteen called out to us. "Everyone, let's go!" Well all turned towards the door and began to sprint to safety. After a second though, I stopped to look back at Eraserhead. Even though he was kicking ass, I could see the strain he was putting his body through. Just a few seconds into the fight, he was already moving slower than he had been, even if it was an infinitesimal amount. I shut my eyes and tried not to make a decision that I didn't like.

"God damn it!" I yelled, as I turned back to the fight. "The least I can do is take out that shadow asshole before I leave!"

"Well, well. Don't you know it's quite rude to insult your enemy in such a manner?" A deep and chilling voice came from behind me. I turned and looked, and my heart nearly stopped. The shadow villain had teleported behind me and in front of the class, cutting off our escape. "There is no escape for you, children. It is a pleasure to meet you. We are the League of Villains. I know it's impolite, but we've decided to invite ourselves into this haven of justice to say hello. Isn't this such a fitting place for All Might, the Symbol of Peace, to take his last breath? Pity that he has not yet arrived."

As the villain gave his speech, I saw Thirteen begin to unclasp a cap at the end of one of her fingers, presumably to use her quirk, but a rush of movement distracted both of us. Bakugou had jumped forward, along with Kirishima surprisingly, and both of them attempted to strike the enemy. I had just enough reaction to shout as they jumped. "NO! Stop!"

 _ **BOOM!**_

They both collided with the ground, having been dodged my the shadow villain. They seemed confident for a second, before the villain's voice echoed once more. "You live up to your school's reputation, but you should be more careful children." His yellow eye slits narrowed. "Otherwise, someone might get hurt."

"You two!" Thirteen yelled in frustration, still clutching her finger as a weapon. "Get out of the way!"

The shadow villain rushed forward. "I'll scatter you across this facility to meet my comrades and your deaths!" Darkness suddenly covered the area as we were engulfed in cold shadow. Winds whipped and curled as we struggled to stay together. I could feel me feet leaving the ground, but a hand clasped my arm. I couldn't see who it was, but there was a strong feeling of an icy gale as my feet once again lifted, pulling whoever had grabbed on along with me.

* * *

I opened my eyes, and suddenly, I was no longer standing at the USJ entrance. I was in a grove of trees, standing in a clearing. I turned, scanning my surroundings, but there was just one other person with me.

I looked down, and let out a sigh of relief. "Thank god. At least I'm not here alone."

Momo gave an expression that mirror both my relief and fear. "I was standing too close to let you be taken. I thought we might be able to resist the gate, but we were still sucked in."

I went to help her up, but she winced as she stood. She shifted her weight, favoring her right leg. "What happened?" I asked, worried.

"When I pulled you down, I landed wrong." Her leg began to glow as it was suddenly wrapped in restricting bandages. "Silly, I know, but it will impair my fighting ability."

"That's fine." I felt another surge of relief that was quickly followed by apprehension. I could handle a twisted ankle, but that would require telling yet another person about my quirks. I knew that eventually I would tell Momo and the others the full truth, but now didn't feel like the right time. I made my decision. "I'll just do the fighting for both of us." I said, full of determination.

"Well, ain't that a crying shame?" A gruff voice said just a few meters behind me. I whipped around, and I realized that we had become surrounded in the few seconds that we had been distracted. The person closest to us, a grizzled man with a long beard stepped forward. He reached up and began to pick his teeth, revealing that his fingertips had long claws on them, and his teeth were pointed like a canine's. "I was really hoping to get me a nice bite of the pretty one." He grinned a feral smile as his companions began to chuckle with him.

"Shit." I muttered under my breath. We were alone, injured, and outnumbered. I let Momo stand on her own and whipped out Amber Flare, the ends scorching the grass immediately. Worst of all, I was handicapped since I couldn't use my other quirks in front of Momo.

"I guess the little cub's got some spunk!" The beast man jeered. He lowered his stance claws extended. "Gimme this one first boys! Then we'll share the girl!"

I growled, anger swelling inside me, and I charged.

* * *

 **So, uh, yeah. That went to shit pretty quickly, now didn't it? Anyway, this chapter marks another couple big changes to canon, even if they're not immediately apparent. More will be revealed with time. The arc especially is one that I've had planned out for a long time and am super excited to get to do it! Now, for those of you that are concerned that Yaoyorozu will be relegated to damsel in distress, worry not! She will get plenty of badass moments this arc as well.**

 **Anyway, I have some scheduling stuff to talk about no. This semester, Thursdays have become extremely inconvenient to try and get chapters done and out, as I have two major classes and a lab on Thursdays. This is not an excuse, but the reasoning that I will be moving the release schedules to Sundays. Worry not, this works in you're guy's favor, because the next chapter is coming out this Sunday! Crazy right? Anyway, just wanted to let y'all know. Make sure you review and follow, it keeps me going!**

 **With lots of love, this is Rel, signing out!**

 **The next chapter will be available on Sunday, February 10th**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey everybody! It's Rel, back with the next chapter of JAH! I'm excited to say that this is the first chapter of the new schedule, and one that I've had thought out since waaaay before I started writing this fic. Anyway, don't let me distract you from the action! Just remember to follow and review after you're done reading!**

* * *

"Gimme this one first boys! Then we'll share the girl!" The beast man shouted with sick glee, claws extended and fangs revealed.

A pulse of rage tore through my body. Amber Flare began to glow hotter, it's power increasing with the white hot fury that I was feeding it. I finally had friends, I was damned if I was going to let this piece of shit talk about them that way.

With a growl, I pushed off of the ground, sprinting towards the enemy. The villain grinned, raising his claws in a combat ready stance. At the last moment, I whipped my left arm to the side, catching the low hanging branch of a nearby tree, and changed my momentum. Shock spread across the beast man's face as I was pulled into the air and landed on one of his comrades, my weight crushing his face into the ground.

There was a beat of silence before I looked up at the villain. "You want a one on one fight?" I spit on the villain under my feet. "Fuck that. You all come at me at once."

Instead of being intimidated like I'd hoped, the leader gave me a wide grin. "I like your style kid!" He turned back to the group of villains that had encircled us. "You heard him boys, little cub wants to take on the pack!" The rest of the villains showed the same cockiness and let out a cheer and sprinted towards me.

Damn me and my big mouth, but at least they were leaving Momo alone. I caught a glimpse of her backing away slowly, her limp still evident. She was quickly obscured from me as a pig faced man charged in, a cleaver held high. I crouched, ducking under his swing and delivering a swift punch to his stomach before kicking his legs out from under him. He fell, rolling into two of his comrades that had been hoping to flank me.

Another villain lifted his hands and quill-like projectiles shot from his fingertips. I whipped my arms in and arc in front of me, Amber Flare catching most of the projects. The scent of burnt fingernails filled the air as they vaporized on impact, with only a few spare needles ricocheting away. The villain shot again, but at this point another villain had stepped up to take a swing at me. I kicked him in the ribs, pushing him into the path of the needles.

Three more villains encircled me, including the one that could fire the needles. Looking up, I swung Amber Flare over my head, catching onto a branch and tossed myself into the air. I flipped backwards, my feet landing on the shoulders of Quill-Fingers. The other two villains attempted to strike at me with clubs, but at the last moment I jumped back allowing their weapons to make contact with their their ally. These villains made excellent human shields.

I was about to swing forward when I heard a shout from behind me. "Kyou! Down!" Momo's voice echoed across the clearing. Without a second thought, I dropped to the ground, face pressed against the grass.

 _ **BOOOM! BOOOM!**_

Two large explosions sounded from the area behind me, and both made contact with the villains who had taken out their comrade. I looked up, and the villains wear enshrouded in a mess of a white putty-like substance. They struggled to move, each stray swing digging them deeper into Momo's trap.

I turned back back to Momo, who stood behind a still smoking cannon. "Good job. These guys are getting annoy-" A flash of movement behind Momo caught me eye. "Move!"

Momo listened to my advice, but her ankle came back to bite her in the ass. When she tried to roll forward, she let out a shout as her ankle caught in the grass. With the grace of a woodland creature, the beast man grasp Momo by the throat and arm, not allowing her to fall. He made eye contact with me and pulled her close.

"Damn, little club." He said, drawing out the words to let his fangs show. "That was some display. I knew my guys were a bit on the lean side, but you made short work of them. Too bad things are never that easy." He lowered his head near Momo's neck and inhaled. I was shaking as I began to step forward, but his claws glinted and he looked back up at me. "Why don't you just run back to your teachers, and cutie and I will be getting out of here. How's that sound?"

The blind rage that had been building in me almost snapped, but I noticed something. Momo didn't seem scared or worried in the least bit. Hey eyes met mine, and a look of determination crossed her face. She winked at me and I exhaled. I looked back at the beast man, who didn't seem to notice anything strange. "Too bad for you, dude. You fucked up." I said with a smirk.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He said, a hint of nervousness creeping into his voice. "I got you my the balls, kid."

"You fucked up by thinking I was the scariest one here." I let Amber Flare drop and I winked back at Momo.

All too late, realization crossed the beast man's face as he looked down at Momo in terror. He let out a yelp and suddenly began to shake wildly. His muscles moved without any control and his eyes rolled back into his head. When he hit the ground, there was a stench of burnt clothing and a small wisp of smoke curling off his crotch. Without him to hold her up, Momo began to fall. I ran forward and caught her, lowering her to the ground slowly.

I took a second to survey what had happened, and my eyes landed on a small black device that had been discarded to the ground. I began to chuckle. "A tazer to the balls?" My chuckle evolved into full bellied laughter. "Momo! That's so mean!"

She sighed and smiled softly. "It was the only thing that felt right." Her eyes hardened as she looked down at him. "This man is a disgusting creep." She shuddered.

"Oh, absolutely!" I said, still laughing. "He deserved it completely. I'm just glad you got out of there all right."

Momo looked down, abashed. "Yes, well, it was quite the close call, and I am not completely unscathered." She said, gestured to her twisted foot.

"Eh, that'll be fine with time." I shrugged. "Nothing you can do about it. It is nice to be the teammate who isn't the injured one, though."

She smiled. "I believe this to be a reversal of the last time we were a team. Though I did still land the final blow on the enemy." Momo gave a sly smile.

"Excuse me!" I said with mock indignation. "I, once again, did all of the work and you swept in at the last moment. It seems to me that you just like taking credit for my work!"

Momo gave me a look that was somewhere between amusement and offense, before shaking her head with a small grin. She went quiet for a moment before she looked back up at me. "Kyou, the other day-"

 _ **BOOOOOM! CRASH!**_

The sound of a wind explosion sounded from our right, some distance away. It wasn't nearby, but the ground still shook with the force. Momo and I locked eyes. "Our friends are still fighting." I sighed, standing. "Can you walk?" I offered her my hand.

She concentrated for a second before answering, and a splint glowed into existence around her leg. She took my hand. "Yes. Not enough for close combat, but I believe I can still be of use."

"Good, because I have no idea how many enemies are still crawling around." I took the lead walking forward, giving Momo my shoulder to lean on. "But I do know where we can find some villains and we're probably sorely needed."

Momo stopped for a moment to look at me, her eyes wide. "You can't mean.."

"Yeah." I confirmed, giving a platform in the distance a hard look. "Eraserhead is going to need our help."

* * *

It took us a few minutes of trudging through the forest section of USJ to get to the central platform, where Eraserhead was still locked in combat with a horde of villains, though most of the were admittedly knocked out or otherwise injured. We kept to the treeline, observing the situation before we ran in.

"Look at him go!" I said, keeping my eyes on our teacher. "It's been at least fifteen minutes and he's still moving! Though he is moving a lot slower than when the fight started." I felt a small wave of worry for Eraserhead. He was no longer performing acrobatic back flips or throwing around enemies. Instead, he had resorted to swift hits and dodges, conserving his energy.

"What else would you expect? He is a pro after all." Momo said next to me. She had conjured a small set of binoculars and was surveying the other areas that were visible form the central plaza. She suddenly perked up as she looked to our right. "Kyou, look at that! I think I found Todoroki!" She pointed at the distance.

I turned, and spotted what she was talking about. The large lake that existed in the center of the USJ had a yacht sized glacier floating in it's center, villains scattered across its surface. "Yeah, I wonder what other moody teen could make a glacier appear out of nowhere." I said, sounding snarky to even myself.

Momo shot me a look. "While I cannot disagree with your description, all of our classmates are deserving of our respect, regardless of how we personally feel about them."

I frowned. "Oh yeah? I don't see you tripping over yourself to compliment Bakugou!"

Momo sniffed and put her nose in the air. "That is a different matter entirely! Regardless, the glacier is not what I was pointing out." She pushed her binoculars into my hands. "Here, look for yourself."

I lifted them to my eyes and began to search the area. Suddenly, I could now see what Momo was talking about. There was a thin silvery line connecting the glacier to the mainland. I followed it, searching the water for any signs of our classmates, what I spotted a shock of red standing out against the white.

"I see him!" I called out, and I squinted to get a better view. "It looks like they had the same idea as we did. They're all right by the shore. He's with Midoriya, and.. ..is that Tsu?"

"I believe it is." Momo gave a quick answer, making it clear she was still annoyed about the Bakugou comment.

"But that makes no sense!"

Momo gave me a look of confusion. "How so?"

"Well, think about it. If you were going to split up all of the U.A. students so that the weaklings could take care of them, why would you send the frog to a pond?"

"I guess that is strange…" Momo thought quizzically. "The villains must have no idea about our quirks and randomly dispersed us."

"Yeah, that was dumb of them." I frowned. "Would have been nice to know earlier, but at least the villains have been chumps so far."

A cry of pain pulled my attention away from our classmates, and Yaoyorozu let out a terrified gasp. The villain with the hand mask was grappled with Eraserhead, both of them struggling to move. Even from here, I could see a look of agony twist itself onto our teacher's face. Raising the binoculars once more, I saw what had happened. Where the villain's hand had grasped Erasurehead's arm, the flesh began to dry and flake away, decaying at an ungodly rate. Eraserhead wrenched his arm away from the villain and retreated back into the crowd of low level thugs. Even one armed, the teacher made short work of several of them, dodging and allowing the villains to dispatch one another.

The hand villain stood up, and a smile crept from under his mask. He spoke up, his raspy voice echoing across the platform. "That annoying quirk of yours isn't suited for this kind of combat, Eraserhead. This battle isn't like sneaking around in alleys. You're a little out of your element, hero."

The villain lifted his hand to signal one of his comrades. "Oh, yeah. One more thing. I'm not the final boss."

Out of nowhere, a large mountain of a man appeared behind the pro. A pit of fear dug into my stomach. This man was easily two meters tall, and built from nothing but muscle. With more speed than I could follow, the villain grasped Eraserhead by his face. Blood sprouted from beneath the behemoths fingertips as our teacher's mask went flying. The creature slammed him into the ground shaking it and cracking the concrete.

The creature held Mr. Aizawa there, pinning him to the ground and grabbed his right arm. There was a sickening crunch as it snapped in the creature's grasp like a twig. Momo cried out next to me as it happened. She buried her face into my shoulder. She was sobbing.

The hand villain launched into another monologue, but I wasn't listening anymore. I turned to Momo, and I grabbed her by the shoulders. Her eyes were red and swollen, but her expression sobered up when she saw my face. "Momo… ...I can't just watch this."

Her eyes widened with panic. "No! You can't go down there! It's suicide!"

"Well, I've never been the smartest of people…" I tried to laugh at the hollow feeling in my stomach. "Regardless, I need you to get Mr. Aizawa out of there when I do. Can you do that for me?" I asked, keeping eye contact with her and squeezing her shoulders tighter.

She took a few moments to think, a myriad of expressions crossing her face, and I heard our teacher scream out again. "Momo!" I shouted urgently. "A pro is about to die! Can you get him out of there!?"

She shakily nodded, but didn't answer otherwise. I sighed. "Good. When I give the signal, rush him out of there." When she started to question me, I stopped her. "You'll know what the signal is, trust me."

Without waiting for an answer, I sprinted away from the treeline and towards the villains. I unclicked my bandoleer from place. If there was any time to do it, this was it. I glanced around as I moved. From the central platform, nearly every area could see me, including the students at the front gate. God damn it, this was not how I wanted to do this, but I had no choice.

As I approached the villains, I saw the warp villain appear next to the leader. They began to speak, and this was my chance. "HEY FINGERFACE!" I yelled, trying to catch them off guard. "LET MY TEACHER GO AND **EAT SHIT!** "

All three villains looked up at me, and I through my bandoleer as I ran. Calling to a power that I had rare opportunity to cut loose with, I thought back to my pops. The old man would call me an idiot for this, right after patting me on the back. "Quirk Activation: OVERGROWTH!" I yelled, pooling my power into the piece of equipment.

 _ **BOOOOOM! SNAP!**_

There was a burst of vegetation as the seeds within the bandoleer felt my power and shattered outward, growing at an explosive rate. Vines, trees, bushes, flowers, grass, every type of plant that the costume department had given me flowed outwards in a river of flora. The hand villain was swept away, along with the monster and the shadow villain. I channeled my consciousness into the plants as they grew, calling them to move Mr. Aizawa behind me, to Momo and safety.

As quickly as the plants had grown, they reached their full maturity, and my power ceased. There, in what was previously the empty central plaza of the USJ, now stood a culmination of plants that belonged in a fantasy novel. All of the different species of trees had swirled together, creating a mutated beauty that bore needles, leaves, cones, and berries. The entire facility went quite as the plants still into place.

I looked behind me, and saw that Momo had grabbed Mr. Aizawa, and both of them were retreating to the entrance platform. I let out a sigh of relief as things stilled. The fight was over, and I had won in one fell swoop. Right as I began to relax, and let the exhaustion wash over me, I heard the words of the beast man echo in my ears. Too bad things are never that easy.

 _ **CRACK!**_

 _ **CRACK! CRACK!**_

I watched in horror as the tree that I had created began to tilt. Wood splintered and groaned and a black fist punched from within it's trunk. The bark shattered. From within the tree, the black monster emerged almost unscathed. There were abrasions across his form from the cutting of the wood, but that were knitting themselves back into place as I stared at them.

What the hell was this guy? There was no way he had survived that. Especially not with just the strength quirk that he had been displaying this entire time. BUt even now, I looked at his body heal itself, and I came to a chilling realization. This creature was an amalgamation of quirks. He was just like me.

I fell to my knees in despair. I was out of tricks. How can I beat this guy? The overgrowth spike had taken everything out of me. To make matters worse, I heard a familiar voice rasp from my right. "Thank you, Kurogiri. That was a close one."

Eyes tearing up, I turned to see the hand villain stepping out of a shadowy black portal. "It is nothing, Tomura Shigaraki. I merely moved us before any major damage could be done." The shadow villain, Kurogiri, said politely. "Forgive me for leaving Nomu behind, but I correctly believed that he would be fine."

The villain looked up at me, and his wild red eyes met mine. He sighed. "Well, if I can't have the Symbol of Peace, at least I can remove this brat from the server." He turned towards Nomu, the monster. "Nomu. PK him. Slowly."

Quicker than I could blink, the creature was there, its hands wrapped around my torso, easily encompassing my chest. I could feel the pressure. Oh my god it hurt! I couldn't breath. I could feel and hear my ribs snapping. I had nothing I could do.

I looked up at the creature who would kill me, and I spit once in his eye, my blood pooling around his brain. In that one second, and idea came to me, one last ditch effort that could save my life. I reached my arms up, and touched his temples. I choked out three words before my vision began to fade. "Quirk Activation: Extract."

* * *

 **So, uh, yeah. That's a thing…..**

 **...Cool, huh?**

 **This was a little bit of a shorter chapter, mostly due to my compressed turn around from the schedule changing, but A LOT of stuff happened! Oh my god! We got two separate fights, plus some character development. Also, Kyou unveiled his biggest quirk to his classmates! Yeah, there were a lot of things in this chapter that will affect the story going forward.**

 **Regardless of that, please remember to follow, favorite, and review, becuase it really makes me want to write more!**

 **Speaking of reviews, thanks Raidentensho for your second review! I have to say, I really like your idea about the shoulder cape, and will totally take it into consideration. Unfortunately, I don't know how much hijinx I'll be able to deliver in the next couple of chapters, but there some time in the near future, say seven or eight chapters form now, where we get into some fun.**

 **Thanks everybody for ready, hope to see you again!**

 **The next chapter will be available Sunday, February 24th!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey everybody! This is a super special bonus chapter! It's a little shorter, just like the last one, but I decided to put it out early, because of the amazing response I got on the last one! I cannot believe how overwhelmingly positive you all were over the cliffhanger last chapter, it really made my day. Anyway, don't let me distract you from your well-earned bonus chapter. Review responses and notes in A/N below!**

* * *

Immediately, I knew I had made a massive mistake. My mind screamed as it touch the mind of the Nomu. Whatever this creature was, it was **not** like me. This creature was an abomination, created by some sick bastard. My quirk, Extract, surgically removed quirks from their owners and grafted them into my body, slowly creating a bond between the quirk and my own mind. The monster responsible for creating Nomu had done the equivalent of ripping each quirk out of their original users with their bare hands and stitching them all together with barbed wire.

Between the physical pain of Nomu crushing my body slowly and the mental pain of even making contact with this monstrosity, I could feel my mind begin to shut down. My vision was already overwhelming red, and every sound was so loud that my ears could only hear a high pitch ringing.

I forced my dying mind forward, closer to this behemoth, pushing with all my might. I was searching for one specific quirk, but it was so hard to differentiate which was which with all of them so muddled together. I could see now, that each of these quirks were not as strong as they seemed, but by forcing them into compliance, Nomu's creator had forced each quirk to grow and evolve. I dig into his mind, forcing a split between two of the quirks. As I touched them, I felt both my mind and body scream again. While neither was the one I was searching for, they still fought against my touch. My mind buckled.

I tried to breathe, but my lungs could no longer take in air. I kicked outwards, but the Nomu's body was made of living stone. With the last of my will, I tried one more time. I forced a mental hand into Nomu's mind. I pushed past the first two quirks, and farther into the sludge.

There! This quirk was it. I wrapped my mind around this power, forgoing the normal procedure that normally accompanied my quirk's activation. Working quickly, I severed the ties between each other quirk and this last bit of hope that I had. Extract was like a scalpel, but my mental hands were shaking. The bonds between Nomu and his quirk kept slipping through my fingers, unwilling to be tampered with. Eventually, however, something gave way. My mind was pushed from Nomu's mind, my final tether destroyed.

 _ **SLUMP!**_

It took a moment for me to understand what had happened. I blinked, trying to clear my vision, but my sight was still red. I reached forward, and I touched something hard and cold. I was on the ground. Nomu must have released me. I couldn't properly feel the ground under me as my head still swam, and my ribs still felt like daggers in my chest cavities. I reached up, and tried to clear my eyes with my hands.

Immediately, I knew something was wrong. My vision did clear, but my hands pulled away warm and wet. Blood. I looked around, searching for the source. I was still in the central plaza, the remnants of my Overgrowth surge strewn around me. A few feet away, Nomu was crouched on one knee, clutching its head and staring at the ground. His legs glittered and torso glittered with white light, and then I realized that almost his entire body was covered in a thick layer of ice.

My sense of hearing started dialing back in, making me aware of a fight happening to my right. I looked up, and saw Todoroki engaged in battle with the hand villain, Shigaraki, while Midoriya and Tsu were both dodging portal attacks from Kurogiri.

I heard a voice from behind me, and it kept repeating something. I slowly turned. There was… ...Kirishima? He was yelling something at me as he was sprinting forward. I tried to raise my hand to wave to him, but I fell back to the ground.

Kirishima reached me, but I still wasn't quite sure what he was saying. I grinned up at him. "Hey.. buddy…" I slurred. Even to me, my voice sounded too deep, it sounded wrong.

I felt my consciousness slipping. My vision tunneled again. The last thing I heard before I retreated into my own mind was the sound of a thunderous boom slamming through the air. My mind went black.

* * *

Light and sound came in flashes for a time. I couldn't quite tell what was happening at any given time. I was.. ..being carried? Yes. I was on someone's back. There was warmth beneath my chest. The light that came through my vision was wrong, a different color than it was supposed to be. Oh. My eyes were still closed. I opened them. Ow, the light hurt. I closed my eyes again, and I went back to sleep.

The next time, I was lying down in a bed. I could feel a thin blanket covering my legs, but it wasn't warm enough. I was cold. I tried to move, but my muscles were limp and rubbery. I stopped trying to move. I could hear something, though. Something familiar. People were talking.

There was a voice, louder than the rest. It was sad, worried maybe, but I couldn't understand it. There was another though, closer and clearer. It was an older one. "-needs lots of bed rest… ...the child was too reckless…" The voice faded in and out. Child? Did someone get hurt? Wait. I must be the child. I guess I was a bit reckless. Whatever. I was too tired to care. I fell asleep again.

* * *

My eyes opened to an unfamiliar ceiling. Where was I? This wasn't my room. I panicked, and starting to sit up. "Fuck!" I cried out as pain jabbed through my chest. My hands flew up to chest, feeling bandages there. My breathing was tight, forced. My head slammed back down onto my pillow.

I laid there for a second, gasping for air. As I did so, I looked around. There was a white curtain stand next to my bed, keeping sunlight from properly filtering into the room. To my right was a door, a single window in the middle showing a lit hallway beyond it. My heart stopped racing. I knew where I was, as I had been here once before. This was Recovery Girl's office.

I took a moment, regaining my composure. Next to my bed was a glass of water and my phone. I reached for the water first, realizing how parched I was. I greedily chugged the liquid life, and it was gone too soon. I sat down the glass and picked up my phone.

The battery was low, but that was to be expected. What took me off guard was the mountain of text messages that awaited me when I turned on my notifications. One hundred and twenty eight messages, many of them from just a few sources. At the top, however, was one that made my heart skip a beat.

[2:47 PM] Kirishima: I'm so sorry man. After what happened, I had to tell the rest of the class what was up. Look, call me when you get out, kay? Get better soon buddy.

 **Fuck**. I can't say I didn't see this coming, not when I blatantly used Overgrowth the way that I had, but I would have liked to have been the one to tell people. I laid back down, letting out a long sigh. Another sharp pain made me inhale sharply. Whatever damage Nomu had done, I was still feeling it. I placed my hand on my left side, recoiling at the amount of bruising that was still there.

"That wasn't too smart, sonny." A tired voice croned from my right. I jumped, gasping yet another wave of pain. I hissed in annoyance. Standing there in the doorway was Recovery Girl, two cups of coffee in hand.

"Well, no one's ever accused me of being smart…" I muttered, glaring down at my injured body.

Recovery Girl walked over and handed me one of the two cups, which I greedily accepted. "I should hope not after that stunt you pulled!" She chastised, waving her finger in my face. "Taking on real villains when you teacher was just defeated! My word, boy! You could have been killed!"

"Yeah, I got that…" I sighed, taking a long drought from my cup. The warm coffee did wonders for my chest pain. I looked up at Recovery Girl. "Did Mr. Aizawa make it out? Was anyone else injured?" I asked.

She shook her head, and I let out another sigh, this one of relief. "There was some merit in what you did. Because Eraser was evacuated so quickly, I was able to treat most of his wounds. He's at the hospital seeing a specialist for his eyes, but he should recover in time." She paused. "Thirteen isn't doing so well, but they should also recover in time, albeit a much longer one."

The pro hero looked down at me. "You should be more worried about yourself, sonny." Recovery Girl shook her head and grabbed down several x-rays from her desk. She held them up. "These are your ribs after you were brought to me."

I recoiled in horror. Every single one of my ribs was broken in at least two places, and the two on my bottom left side were nearly powder. Nomu had destroyed my bones. I looked up at her, a silent question on my face.

She shook her head again. "No, they don't look that anymore. You wouldn't be awake if they did." Recover Girl pulled out another x-ray. "This is how they looked about an hour ago, after I spent some time on them."

While this sight wasn't nearly as bad as the previous, I was still caught off guard by the damage. All of the major fractures had been fixed, but there were still webs of scars and breaks spanning most of my left side. The two previously powdered ribs were deformed almost beyond recognition.

Recovery Girl pulled her chair over and sat down. "I managed to fix you up as best as I could at the time, but this is serious damage." She took a sip of her coffee. "There won't be much impact to your movement after they've finished healing, but you might suffer some permanent restrictions to your breathing. There are exercises that you can do, but this will affect you for a long time."

I was silent for a long while. "But, I can still be a hero, right?" I said, half as a question and half as a prayer.

Recovery Girl, for the first time since she had walked in, shifted into a small smile. "Yes, sonny, you can still stay in the hero track." As quickly as it had appeared, her smile vanished into a frown. She grabbed her walking stick and whacked it lightly on my head. "But if I see you attempt something like this one more time, I will not hesitate to recommend that you are dropped from the hero course. Do you understand?" She said with a scowl.

I returned her smile, rubbing my head where she had hit me. "Yes, ma'am. I understand." At least there was that. I jestered down at my body. "How long will it be until I can leave?"

"That depends. Do you know how to move in a wheelchair?" I nodded. "Good, then you can leave after I finish my final check ups, which will be in about an hour. I don't want you exerting yourself until your ribs are fully healed, so I'm excusing you from all hero training for the foreseeable future."

I didn't even protest. I nodded. "Let's just do your tests…"

* * *

About an hour later, one of the U.A. buses was dropping me off at my apartment with my new wheelchair. Apparently, I had been unconscious for two days following the USJ attack, making today Saturday. I sent a text message to Kirishima, asking him to meet me later. I needed to talk to him about exactly what he had told everyone else.

I wheeled myself up the elevator and to my front door. I reached for my keys, but then I realized I was wearing the gym clothes that Recovery Girl had provided me with. Shit. I turned to wheel myself back down to the front desk, when I heard my door open behind me.

"Hey, man…" Kirishima said, poking his head out of my front door. His face was somber and guilty, and he looked like he hadn't slept at all.

I looked at him, and then at my door, and then back at him. "What are you doing here?" I said, more surprised than anything else. "Who gave you a key?"

Kirishima stood up, seemingly surprised that this was the first thing I wanted to talk to him about. "Oh! Well…" His face went a little red, and he held up **my** keys. "I remembered that Gremlin was here, and with you in the hospital, someone needed to come feed him. Then you texted me, so we decided to stick around-"

"Wait." I interrupted him. "We?"

"Oh yeah!" His face lost a little bit of its worry. He opened the door farther and I could see Mina sitting on my bed.

"Hey, Kyou!" She said, giving a little finger wave. From her lap sat a very spoiled looking cat, its ears currently being scratched by her other hand. "I'm so glad you're better! Me and this cute wittle kitty were just waiting for you to get home!"

I sighed. Trust Mina to spoil the damn cat. "Hey Mina." I said, tired. I looked back at Kirishima. "Could you scoot out of the way? I can't really fit a wheelchair in there with you in the doorway."

"Crap! Yeah!" He quickly jumped out of the way, going so far as to push me in himself. "Sorry about that, I was just taken off guard. I figured you'd want to talk about…" His eyes flicked over to Mina.

"Well, I do want to talk about that, but I mostly want to sleep. Before that, though, I want to know everything." I said dryly. "What happened after I fell unconscious?"

"I'm gonna be honest, man." Kirishima said, sitting on the bed next to Mina. "I don't really know what happened **before** you knocked out. Bakugou and I were kicking some villain butt before we made it to that central area. When we got there, that big freaking tree was already knocked over and the bird guy had a hold of you. You-" His eyes tightened and he clenched his fists. Mina curled up a little tighter and patted him on the back. "You were screaming, man. I thought you were dying. I-i've never heard anyone sound like that before. Todoroki was there, trying to stop Nomu by freezing him, but the other villains kept attacking him. When I finally got to you, you were bleeding out of your eyes, and I thought I was too late." Tears formed in the corners of his eyes.

We all went quiet. I knew that Nomu's mind had affected me, but I didn't quite realize the extent. I felt my hands shake a little as I thought about. Kirishima wasn't far off. I had been dying. I shook my head. "What happened to the villains?"

Kirishima went to speak, but Mina piped up first. "All Might showed up, like, right after Shima got to you. He went and fought the villains. I don't remember a lot about it, because I was trying to help Thirteen, but I remember that hand guy kept talking about cheat codes? I think?" She put her finger to her chin thinking about it.

"He said that it wasn't fair that the heroes could use cheat codes." Kirishima spoke up, a hollow look in his eyes. "Nomu wasn't strong anymore, so All Might beat him up really easily. The hand guy and the shadow guy got away, they teleported."

"And that was because of you, right Kyou?" Mina said asked, giving Kirishima an unsure look.

There it was, the million dollar question. I met Mina's eyes. "What exactly did Kirishima tell you?"

"Well, after Shima got you to Recovery Girl, everyone wanted to know what you had done." Mina said quietly. "Even All Might was asking, and he said that he needed to know so that Recovery Girl could heal you. So he told us that you could steal quirks." Mina finished the sentence by looking away. It was a sign that she too knew how scary my quirk sounded.

Kirishima looked at me. "I tried to tell people that you didn't actually steal quirks, but a lot of people got worried about what your quirk could mean."

I sighed. "That happens." I slowly stood from my chair, legs still weak. I grabbed a glass of water from the kitchen. I turned back to them. "Mina?"

"Yeah?" She said, meeting my eyes.

"What do you want to know?"

"What?" Mina's face filled with confusion.

"I said 'What do you want to know?' Anything. My quirk, my life. You helped look after my cat, you at least deserve to have your questions answered."

Both Kirishima and Mina were taken aback. Whatever reaction to their story they had been expecting, this was not it. "Umm…" Mina thought about it for a moment.

"I think I've got it." She said.

"Shoot." I took a swig of water. "Go for it."

"Will you ever take the quirk of anyone who doesn't deserve it?"

I gave Mina a hard stare, and she recoiled slightly. This was a question that I had answered a hundred times. "No. Never."

Instead of the disbelief that I normally received, Mina gave me a wide smile. "Good. Then I have, like, zero questions left."

It was my turn to be floored. "What? That's it?"

"Yep!" She said, bubbly demeanor back in full force. "If you have your stuff figured out, and you're not hurting anybody, then it's, like, none of my business what your quirk does!"

My expression must have been priceless, because Kirishima recovered from his somber mood and burst out laughing. I sat back down in my wheelchair feeling light headed. "That's all I had to say…?"

Mina stood from my bed and deposited Gremlin in my lap. She wrapped her arms around me and gave me a gentle hug. "That's all you should ever have to say." Mina sat back on the edge of the bed. "We're your friends! There's no way we'd get all suspicious just cause you, like, have some stupid scary power! If anything, that just makes you more cool!"

Kirishima scratched his head as he laughed. "I think I told you something similar when you told me!"

I stroked Gremlin's ears, disbelief still evident on my face. Both relief and joy ached in my chest. "You guys…" I felt moisture collect on my cheeks.

I put Gremlin on the ground and wheeled over to the front door. 'Where are you going?" Mina asked, suddenly worried.

I turned back to her, a smile clear across my face. "Well, if I remember correctly, I still owe you a trip to my garden!" The smile on her face matched my own, as my two new friends went to join me in my fortress of solitude.

* * *

 **So yeah, this chapter just covered what happened immediately after last chapter and Kyou recovering. The injuries he received in the fight are going to affect him for a long time, but that's what happens when you fight something way higher than your level. Those keeping track, you'll notice that without his super strength (the appearance of a quirk that I have not yet addressed) Nomu was unable to inflict nearly as much damage on All Might as he did in the manga. This means that All Might's time limit is still hovering between two and three hours. Maybe more training for Deku? Who knows? Also, Aizawa is in much better condition compared to the manga as well, so that'll be fun.**

 **So, reviews. Thank you so much for everyone who has reviewed, it really makes my day! I've just got a few responses for people who reviewed.**

 **PsychoKay - Lol, I can't believe that you also have a cat named Gremlin! The name for Kyou's cat was taken directly from a real world cat that I have met, though the in story cat is much nicer than the one IRL.**

 **Dalan777 - Legitimately, your review made my day. I wasn't sure how people were going to feel about the cliffhanger, so I was super hyped at the vote of confidence you threw in. And yes, spamming will make me write faster, as I hope this bonus chapter showed.**

 **Josuke21 - Much the same in regards to Dalan777's review, but I do have one more note. Yes, Kyou will have (one of) the most broken quirks in the series, but I am also trying to scale it pretty well. I hope I don't make every fight too easy for him in the future.**

 **Anyway, thank you all who read this special bonus chapter! Don't forget to follow, favorite, and review! This is Rel, signing out with lots of love.**

 **The next chapter will still be available Sunday, February 24th!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey everybody! Rel just sliding in at the last minute to deliver this week's chapter of Just Another Hero this week! This is a very talking filled chapter, but I feel like it lays the groundwork for a lot of character motivation moving forward. Anyway, please enjoy and don't forget to favorite, follow, and review!**

* * *

After we spent some time in my garden, I asked Kirishima and Mina to accompany me on a quick errand before the day was over. We found ourselves boarding the 5:30 pm train south, Mina equipped with a brand new wreath of flowers that she had picked from my garden. While she received some weird looks and from the other passengers, she happily hummed along and seemed to not notice them.

Six blocks and fifteen minutes later, we were stepping off the train platform and heading into a busier, more business driven part of town. Kirishima rolled my wheelchair down the street, massing multi-story buildings and medium sized companies. It was when we reached a somber gray four story building that I had Kirishima stop.

"We're here." I sighed with relief as an ache filled my chest. I'd been wanting to do this for a while.

"This is it?" Kirishima asked. "What is this place?"

I pointed up and to the left at a weathered but well loved sign. "'Tipoca Ward Assisted Living.' We're here to visit one of the patients."

Kirishima and Mina gave each other a strange look, but said nothing. Without a word, they wheeled me up to the building. As the automatic doors opened and sterile, stale air blasted outwards. I smiled at the desk attendant as we approached.

"Justine!" I said, waving from my chair.

The younger nurse looked up from the computer that she had been working at and smiled back, giving a slight wave. "Hello, Kyousuke." She said pleasantly. "She just went to her room, so you should be fine to go see her."

"Thanks!" I said, directing Kirishima to the elevators. "We'll be down before curfew, probably." I said as we passed the counter.

Justine sighed, brown eyes gleaming. "I doubt it, but it's expected at this point."

The elevator doors shut, and we made our way up to the fourth floor. As we walked the halls, we passed several elderly folks, some of whom recognized me as a common visitor. I gave quick greetings to each of them before steering my group to the last door in the hall.

As we got to the door, I checked the nameplate and felt the jitters stretch across my sore limbs. I turned to the other two, who were each giving me odd looks. "So, uh, I've never really done this before.." I admitted, slightly abashed.

"Like, done what?" Mina asked, absentmindedly playing with her wreath of flowers. "We still don't know why we're here." She squinted at the nameplate. "Who's Nanada Tahara?"

"Oh, shit." I breathed. "Guess I forgot to fill you guys in." I took a moment to steel myself. "We're here to visit my grandmother."

Both Mina and Kirishima gave each other confused looks, before realization crossed their faces. Mina began to giggle. "Kyou!" She squealed, trying to keep in her amusement. "That's not what we were expecting at all. You don't have to be so serious about taking people to meet your grandma!"

"Seriously, man!" Kirishima wasn't even attempting to hide his laughter. "We thought you were gonna unveil some dark secret or something!"

"B-but..." I could feel my face flush. "Isn't this normally like a big thing? I've never brought friends here before…"

Mina began to chuckle even more, almost crying with laughter. Then she leaned in and gave me another gentle hug. "No, silly! It's, like, a totally normal thing to do! Though I guess you wouldn't really know, poor baby."

"But yeah, man." Kirishima said, wiping his eyes and regaining his composure. "This is way less stressful than you made it seem. Lead on in!" Kirishima struck a muscled, hyped pose.

"All right then…" I mumbled, still embarrassed. How was I supposed to know that this was a normal thing? Whatever. I pushed open the door, being gentle enough to not make any loud noises. The lights were off, but a slight amount of duck light still made the room semi-seeable. "Gran?" I called softly. "You awake?"

"Yes, I'm awake, child." A disgruntled elderly voice came from the bed. "If you children are done gossiping you can come in now."

I rolled my eyes and looked back at the other too, who seemed taken aback. I gave them a small smile and gestured inward. "You heard the lady, come on."

I flicked on the light as we entered the room, bathing the familiar room in fluorescent light. A planting box of gentle yellow flowers sat in the windowsill, and multiple pictures lined the walls. There were small table on either side of the bed, each bore more pill bottles than I would have liked to admit. In the bed sat Gran, regal and dignified as ever, hands crossed and back straight. Long silver hair flowed across her back and shoulders, and green piercing eyes scowled at me as we entered. We stared at each other for a moment, and Kirishima and Mina both stood in an awkward silence, unsure of what to do.

After a moment, Gran turned to the other two. "So, you must be the friends that this _boy_ has been telling me about on the phone." She said the word 'boy' with a scathing tone, making it clear that she was still mad at me, but she returned to her polite demeanor quickly.

"Um, yes." Mina said, looking nervously to me. "Hi, I'm Mina Ashido, nice to meet you!" She said, giving her a small wave.

"Yes, a pleasure." Gran turned to Kirishima. "And what about this strapping young lad?"

Kirishima looked back and forth anxiously. "E-Ejirou Kirishima." He stuttered before quickly adding "Ma'am."

Gran inspected them both, before a small smile came to her face. "It is nice to Kyou with friends his own age." She stated. Both of my friends dropped their shoulders in relief, and some tension left the room. "You both seem very lovely, and I would very much like to question you more about my grandson's habits at school, but I'm afraid there are some things that I would like to speak with him about privately. There is a lounge on the other side of this floor if you would like to wait there for him."

At the dismissal, both of them turned their eyes to me. I gave a nod. They both said their goodbyes and left without another word. Gran met my eyes again, and we sat for another moment.

Finally, Gran spoke up. "Two days." She gritted out. "I spent two days waiting to hear that you'd died in the school's care, because you decided to do something stupid."

I sat back in my wheelchair, not quite knowing what to say. I felt offended, but she wasn't wrong. "I-" I stopped myself. "It wasn't something that was up to me."

"Bullshit." Oh, there it was. Gran only cursed when she was really angry, a leftover vestige of Pops. "I wanted you to apply to U.A. because I know that they are the best, and that they might teach you not to get yourself killed!"

I went to speak, but she cut me off. "I'm not finished!" She snarled, composure breaking. Tears started to run down her face. "I have spent the last two days thinking about how I was to scold you, about the words I would use to make you understand that you can't throw yourself into danger at the drop of a hat! Do you know what I came up with?" Gran said, green eyes full of angry tears.

I tried again. "Gran-"

"I came up with nothing!" She burst out. I sat in shocked silence. That wasn't what I had expected to hear. Gran sat back in her bead, back against the wall. She looked down at her hands, and spoke in a much lower voice. "I couldn't think of anything to say, because I knew your grandfather would never forgive me if you stopped trying to be a hero..."

I wheeled myself to the edge of her bed, and stood. I reached out and pulled her into a tight embrace. I held her for a moment, and I could feel how skinny she'd gotten over the recent months. She was fragile, both emotionally and physically.

After a few seconds, I murmured. "I'm sorry, Gran."

"I know." She whispered softly. "I just don't want you to go before me, at the very least."

A few more seconds passed, but they had to come to an end as I felt my legs go weak. I sat back down in my chair, but kept my hand on Gran's. She used her other hand to wipe away her tears.

Gran looked down at me and smiled. "Now that that's taken care of, you can go on and tell me about how school's been. Have you had a good time?"

I nodded slowly. "Yeah, I really have. U.A. has been a really different experience than anywhere else."

"Good, I'm proud. I haven't seen you with anyone your own age in a really long time, especially not a girl!" Gran smiled slyly. "She was quite cute you know!"

"Gran!" I rolled my eyes, exasperated. "I thought we'd been over this! Plus, Me and Mina aren't like that. Both of them are just my friends."

"A shame, then." Gran sighed. "Do you at least have your eye on someone? It would be a waste to let your high school years go by without meeting anyone."

"I know, I know. You always talk about it!" I relaxed into my chair a bit. "And yeah, I've been thinking about, though it is hard not to with you asking every time you see me."

"I just want you to live to the fullest, child. I've said it before and I'll say it again, you spend far too much time here. You need to go explore and make new friends. At least find someone you can trust with your secret."

"Ah, well. About that…" My ears started to go red.

Gran sat up, very obviously surprised. "What? Child, don't tell me that one of them know already?"

"More like both of them, plus my whole class…." I scrunched up in my seat as I thought about it. That was still something I had to consider and deal with.

Gran laid back down in her bed, looking a bit pale. "We spent all those years helping you keep it out of the limelight, and you let everyone find out when you spend a week unattended." She looked at me and shook her head softly. "Your grandfather really did rub off on you…" After a few moments, Gran's head jolted up, as if she remembered something. "Why don't you call those friends of yours and tell me exactly what happened? Then maybe we can have some tea before you leave."

I beamed at the mention of Mina and Kirishima. "Nothing would make me happier."

* * *

Two days later, I found myself on the 7:00 AM train towards U.A. Highschool. My body had recovered enough to walk unassisted on my own, but I still couldn't walk more than a few feet without feeling winded.

Each step that I took towards school had a weight of its own. What would everyone say when I got there? I hadn't had contact with anyone other than Mina and Kirishima since I woke up, even though I had more than a few texts from most people in the class. I could feel my breath quicken and my palms grow moist as I walked.

Luckily, it seemed that I had beaten the reporters today, so there was no one waiting for me at the front gate. I slipped into the freshman building and down the hall towards the 1-A classroom. Before I got there, a tired voice called out from an ajar door. "Watanabe, come in here."

I turned, and sitting in a large room was Mr. Aizawa, head bound mostly in bandages. His arm was in a cast, but there weren't any other major signs on injury. He gestured as I entered the room to a nearby chair. I looked around, and none of the other teachers were present.

"Yes, sir?" I asked, not sure which thing he wanted to talk to me about.

From behind his bandages, bloodshot eyes gave me a hard look. "First things first." He said, voice slightly muffled by his bandages. "I got the report from Recovery Girl, but I need to know. Are you okay?"

I was taken aback slightly, as this was not the first thing I'd expected him to ask. "U-um. Yeah. My sides still kind of hurt, and my breathing is sh- I mean not great." I stuttered out. "But I'm getting better."

"That's not what I meant." Mr. Aizawa closed his eyes and sighed. "Are **you** okay? Not a lot of students go through what you did. It's not logical to keep anything you're feeling to yourself."

My opinion of the hero known as Eraserhead grew even larger than it already was. "Yes, sir. I feel fine. There are some things that happened that are hard to explain, but that creature isn't haunting my nightmares."

"Good." Mr. Aizawa leaned over to his desk and grabbed a roll of papers. He paused, before bringing it down on my head with more force than he needed to. "That is for walking directly into something that you were not ready for. Normally, I would consider having you expelled for your actions, " He let that sink in for a moment, and my sink my stomach did. "But since you were mostly successful, we'll just settle with some extra duties at the next student council meeting."

"Yes, sir. Thank you" I was legitimately grateful. He was well within his rights to punish me, but he was showing me mercy instead.

"If you make a habit of running into dangerous situations, I will put an end to it." Mr. Aizawa said, eyes pulsating for a second when he erased my quirks as a not so subtle threat. "Now, a few more things…"

"What do you need, sir?"

"I hadn't brought it up to the class, because your quirks are your business and your business alone, but now it's out in the open. What is your plan?"

I looked down at my feet. I wasn't really surprised that he knew, as it was listed in my quirk registration. "I don't really have one, sir. I just kinda was hoping it would turn out for the best. I'm used to people taking it poorly..."

A sharp pain lance in my forehead as Mr. Aizawa flicked me in the head. "That's not a logical course of action. Since you don't have a plan, I'll deal with it."

What the hell did that mean? "Alright, sir." was all I could say.

"One more thing." Mr. Aizawa turned to the computer and began to shuffle through files. After a moment, security footage appeared. It was obvious from the get go what the scene was. Nomu was holding me aloft as I writhed in pain, grasping his temples. After a moment, we both collapsed. That was the moment that I had stolen Nomu's quirk.

Mr. Aizawa looked at me with another hard red eyed stare. "You took a quirk from Nomu." He stated.

I met his eyes. "Yeah, I did. I stopped him from killing me or anyone else, what about it?"

"Do you have access to the strength that you took from it?" He said, stare unchanging.

"N-no, not yet." I bowed my head.

"No?"

"No. His quirk was, because there's no better word for it, damaged. I haven't integrated it yet, especially not with my body so messed up."

Mr. Aizawa studied me for a second. "It doesn't have the particulars of your extracting quirk listed in your registration. What do you mean that you 'haven't integrated'?"

"Exactly what it sounds like. I take the quirks from people, then my mind holds them until I can assimilate them into my body. It's not an instantaneous process."

"Good." Mr. Aizawa sat back in his chair. "Power shouldn't be gained that easily, especially not something so massive."

"Except it wasn't." I shot back.

One of Mr. Aizawa's eyes opened. "What do you mean?"

"Nomu was only strong because his quirks all fueled each other." I raised my hands, interlocking my fingers. "When I took away his strength quirk, it became much less powerful, especially with it being so damaged. I doubt I could get half of his strength when I integrate."

Mr. Aizawa thought to himself for a moment, scratching his beard with his casted hand. "That is interesting." He shook his head. "Regardless, you should be careful with that power. When you integrate, we can register your quirk here at the school."

"Really?" I said, relieved. Going downtown to register a new quirk was always a pain in the ass.

"It's only logical that a quirk training facility would be able to update our student's quirks." Mr. Aizawa said. "And that will be all, Watanabi. We have a class to attend." As he spoke, the bell rang.

* * *

Walking into the classroom was an exercise in patience. My eyes were at the floor, not looking at any of my classmates. I could feel the eyes on me, though. Whispers filled the air as Mr. Aizawa and I walked to our respective seats. Apparently, people were surprised to see him teaching.

I sat down at my desk and kept my eyes forced at my notebook, refusing to look at anyone. My ears rang and my palms were sweaty.

Mr. Aizawa's voice came from the front of the room. "Listen up, class. I have a few things to say about the incident that occured last thursday, and I want no interruptions." The was a beat od shuffling as everyone turned to face him, including myself. "The attack on the USJ was a failed attempt to destroy the peace in the world, and you should remember one thing about that. The attempt failed. One of you was injured, yes." The room shifted to face me, but my eyes returned to my notebook. "But you all lived through the day. Now, the next logical step is to continue your education and make it to that you will become top tier heroes. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Mr. Aizawa!" The class range out, with varying levels of enthusiasm

"Two more things before we begin." Mr. Aizawa held up two fingers on his healed hand. "One, in light of the injuries caused by the attack, the U.A. Sports Festival will be delayed by one week, and be held three weeks from now."

Murmurs of both excitement and worry crossed the classroom, and I had to agree. On one hand, the most televised event in the country was something to look forward to, and something that I hadn't considered that I would be competing in. On the other, I had just had my ribs pulverized by a herculean bird monster.

"The second has to do with one of your classmates." Mr. Aizawa said, keeping an even tone. "Watanabi, come up here."

Shit. I looked up helplessly as the entire class turned back to look at me. My eyes immediately flickered to Kirishima and Mina, both were flashing looks of worry. I stood and walked up to the class podium. "Yes, sir?"

Mr. Aizawa ignored me and turned back to the class. "It is not logical to allow rumors and secrets within a place of order. I know that some of you have questions about the nature of Watanabi's quirk. Ask them." He sat down in his chair, wrapping sleeping bag around him.

What the fuck, Eraserhead? This is what he meant when he said he would handle it? I gaped like a fish, looking at my homeroom teacher. He gestured with his hand back to the class. I turned, and the eyes that I'd been imagining were suddenly there, all looking at me. Bakugou shot me crimson daggers, looking as if I'd offended him in some way. Midoriya was giving me a quizzical look, much like the one that I'd been giving him just days before. Even Todoroki had stopped staring at his wall, eyes giving a vacant, yet somehow interested expression.

I swallowed and looked to the back of the classroom. There, my eyes met Momo's, and I felt a brief flash of hope. She wasn't staring at the very least, instead giving a slight, but reassuring expression.

A hand raised to my right, Mineta. I nodded at him "So, uh, like, what actually is your quirk? Cause we've all seen you do those laser whip things, but that's not really it, right?"

I sighed. At least this one I could answer. "My quirk is called Extract. It lets me permanently repossess the quirks of other people."

"But, that's super unfair!" He burst out, purple balls jiggling atop his head. "You can't just like steal other people's quirks! I've never heard of something like that before."

I felt a sliver of rage in my chest. This was the same bullshit I'd been hearing for years. "Whether or not you've heard of it, that's what my quirk does." I said angrily. I looked at the rest of the class, where other hands had popped up. "Regardless of your opinions, yes, I can take quirks and no, I don't steal them from people on a whim. I won't answer that again." I declared.

Several hands, including Kaminari's and Sero's went down. Mineta started pouting to himself after my outburst, talking about chicks or something. I don't know, he's a weird guy, I looked around the room. "Uraraka, what's your question?" I said, perhaps a bit more forcefully than I needed to.

"How many quirks do you have?" She said, a bit hesitantly.

"Five, counting my original. Six, if you count the one that I acquired on thursday."

Uraraka nodded, and sat back down, the number seeming to be to her liking. Another hand went up to my left, and my blood went cold. Without waiting for me to choose him, Bakugou started speaking. "In the battle training exercise, you used another quirk on me, didn't you?" His voice had a dangerous edge.

I nodded. "Yeah, it's called Rebound. It reflects kinetic force for a second."

Bakugou jumped out of his seat. "I fucking knew it, you bastard!" He shouted, explosions popping off in his hands. "You fu-" A white fabric wrapped around his mouth, and his explosion went suddenly quiet. Mr. Aizawas eyes glowed red as he retracted his scarf, giving the class a warning to keep things civil.

All the other hands lowered, seemingly having been answered in the last few seconds. From the back of the room, a hesitant hand went up. Momo. I at her, and she seemed nervous, yet curious. I nodded to her.

Momo stood. "Who did you get your quirks from?" People perked up at that, and heads turned to me. This was the real question that no one had been brave enough to ask yet. This was the answer that people wanted.

I looked to Mr. Aizawa. "Should I give them my full story?"

The homeroom teacher gave me a long look, and then leaned back in his chair. "You have until the end of the period, then at least I'll get a decent nap."

I nodded, and turned back to the class. "Well, I was four when I discovered my quirk, like a lot of people are when….."

I spent the next hour telling the class my story, from how I first stole Amber Flare, all the way up to the experience that I'd had last week with Nomu. No one interrupted me, the entire story. Even Bakugou sat and listened, though he seemed to be having a moral quandary the entire time. And though Mr. Aizawa claimed to be napping, I could feel the eyes staring at my back the entire time.

At the end of my story, I stood still and waited for the class reaction. There were a myriad of expressions across the class. I saw frowns of discontent on several students, like Mineta and Kaminari. Multiple people wore expressions of pity, and others were enthralled by my story. The important part for me, though, was that not a single person seemed scared of my power anymore, and that was enough for me.

* * *

 **So yeah, that was a chapter. We got some much need conversations out of the way, both with Gran and 1-A as a whole. Of course, there will still be other conversations with characters who will want to speak in private (plot hint maybe?), but that will answer the majority of the questions for now!**

 **Ryon Reyne - First of all, thanks for your review, you do raise a decent point. The choice of taking the Strength quirk over the Regen quirk happened for a few reasons. Firstly behind that a dying mind is quite rational, and he simply wanted to stop whatever was killing him. The second was from a writing standpoint, because I didn't want Kyou to have a major healing factor going forward, because that takes most of the danger away from most life and death situations. Third, Kyou already has a healing quirk, though one that is currently WAAAAY less powerful, that he showed off back in his garden. ANyway, thank you for your review!**

 **Josuke21 - The answer to your comment is much the same as Ryon Reyne. Yeah, I kinda wanted to give him Regen, but it kinda takes away all the fun things I can do to him later! Also, good catch on the story tag! However, I won't quite give that away yet, but I will tell you that it really starts percolating in the next major arc! Regardless, thank you for your continued reviews, I really appreciate them!**

 **Anyway, the nex tmajor arc will be a completely original one that takes place before the now delayed Sports Festival! See you all next time! Don't forget to Favorite, Follow, and Review!**

 **This is Rel, signing out with lots of love!**

 **The next chapter will be on the 10th of March!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey everybody, Rel here with another entry into Just Another Hero! Standard stuff, though this chapter was pretty hard for me to write, thus it is a little on the shorter end. Please remember to follow, favorite, or review!**

* * *

After class that day, I felt as small tap on my shoulder as I started to gather my things. I looked up, and Momo as standing there, a mix of emotions across her face, nervousness and a few other things that I couldn't name.

"H-hello, Kyou." She said, giving a slight bow, as if we hadn't just been sitting two rows away from each other for the entirety of class.

"Hey, Momo." What was this about? My heart sank a little when I realized that the last time we had spoken was when I was ordering her to leave with Mr. Aizawa.

There was a beat of silence, as neither of us knew how to continue the conversation. She apparently couldn't figure out how to say what she wanted to say, and I didn't know what the content of this conversation was going to be.

"So-"

"I-"

We both started speaking at the same time, each interrupting the other. Momo flushed as it happened. I don't think she was used to being this uncoordinated in conversation.

"You go first." I said, sitting back a bit.

She nodded gratefully. "Thank you." Momo sat down into what was normally Tokoyami's seat. It was just us in the room now. Momo fiddled with her fingers a bit, before finally speaking up. "I just wanted to talk to you about the USJ…." She trailed off, looking up at me as if asking for my approval.

My heart sank. I had figured that was probably it. "I thought as much." I checked my phone for the time. "I need to head to Recovery Girl's office in a few minutes, but yeah. We can talk for a bit."

Momo thought about it, brow furrowed. "I don't believe that is enough time to say fully what I had in mind." She murmured to herself.

"Then maybe we can meet up later? And for now you can just get some of your main points out?" I asked, realizing to even myself that that sounded lame. I was hoping that Momo's uber-organized mind would take that and run with it.

Momo gave a weak grin. "That would be the optimal strategy, wouldn't it?" She said, a small hint of disappointment present in her voice. She again, retreated into her thoughts for a moment. A second later she looked up at me. She chewed her lip nervously. "Kyou-" She stopped herself.

"Yeah, Momo?" I said, worried. "Just ask what you want to ask, okay?"

Her eyes moistened a small amount, and her next words were choked up. "Y-you don't hate me, do you? For abandoning you?" Momo blinked a few times before looking away.

That floored me. "Abandoning-?" She was worried about that? "You mean when I told you to leave?"

Momo sniffled, and nodded.

"Momo!" I stood up, a mix of outrage and protectiveness bringing me to my feet. I pulled her into a hug. "No! No, not at all! I told you to get Mr. Aizawa out! That was what you did, you didn't abandon me!"

"B-but I just left you!" She started to fully cry now. "A-and then you go hurt so badly, and Recovery Girl wouldn't let us see you…" She trailed off, devolving to tears and sobs.

I stroked her head, a pang in my chest. I hadn't even realized that she would feel this way. I felt even worse for not contacting her after I woke up. No wonder she hadn't reached out, she felt that she was the reason I had been injured. I couldn't imagine what Momo had been going through, sitting with those feelings.

We sat for a few minutes, and she began to calm down. My phone alarm went off, signalling me it was time to leave. I stood up and looked at Momo, who was now wiping her eyes and attempting to regain her composure.

I kept my hands on her shoulders, and looked her in the eye. "I have to go now, but I want to make sure you're okay first. Are you good?" I tried to be as gentle as possible.

Momo nodded. "I'm fine." She wiped her nose as she sniffled. "You need to get to your check-up. You should go." She whispered.

I gave her one more hug, catching her by surprise. "We'll talk about this more, I promise." I released her, and quickly typed out a text message. "Meet me here an hour or two after school tomorrow. It's a little cafe that I like to go to. We can talk there."

Again, Momo nodded, before standing and beginning to gather her things. As I left the room, I turned back to look at her one more time. She stood tall, composure mostly regained. She was still shaky, but her face was a lot more content and at peace than it had been all day. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, revealing more of her face.

Maybe Gran wasn't quite wrong about what my priorities should be...

* * *

I went through the motions of the next day like any other. I went to school early, greeted by Momo, Bakugou, and Todoroki in their respective ways in the morning. Oddly though, Mr. AIzawa was not present today. Present Mic instead subbed in, saying that he had taken today off for doctor's appointments.

We cycled through classes, quickly making it to lunch. As I ate, I noticed that there was an increase of rumors in my vicinity, and most of them seemed to circulate around me. I happily ignored them.

It wasn't until after the final bell that things started to go downhill.

I was beginning to pack my things, when I heard a cheerful voice from the front of the class. "Yo, Watanabi!" Present Mic called looking down at his phone. "I just got told to bring you to the teacher's lounge! You got time?"

I looked up, confused. "Yeah, sure… Why, though?"

The radio host hopped up, a skip in his step. "No clue! Shota just said he needed you!" He said happily.

I thought about it, confused. I thought Mr. Aizawa was gone today? Why did he need me at this time? I looked down at my phone. I still had about two hours before I was supposed to meet up with Momo.

Present Mic brought me to a room on the third floor, stationed far away from any classrooms, and gestured to the door. "I got some papers to grade, and some sweet tunes to lay down, so this broadcaster is signing off here!" He winked, making it clear that it was just going to be me and Mr. Aizawa.

I shrugged and walked in. Immediately, I could tell that there was something wrong. Mr. Aizawa was pacing back and forth in a small room. Most of Mr. Aizawa's bandages had been removed, leaving his long matted hair to flair wildly as he moved he room. Only a few strips of gauze covered the area around his eyes, and his arm was still in a cast.

I walked in, not sure how to proceed. "You called for me, sir?

Mt. Aizawa glanced at my for a moment, before resuming his pacing. "Sit down." He said in a firm voice.

I followed his command immediately, taking a place on the sofa. Whatever was wrong, Mr. Aizawa was stressed. I had only seen my teacher like this once before. His normally tired and laid back demeanor was gone, replaced by the same energy that had fueled him in the USJ attack.

After another minute or two of pacing, Mr. Aizawa dead stopped, giving me a careful look. "Watanabi." He said by name as a statement, rather than a question. "We had a conversation, yesterday morning. Do you stand by everything you said then?"

Nervous energy filled a pit in my stomach. Did I say something wrong? Was I in trouble? I decided to double down. "Y-yes, sir."

His eyes narrowed in concentration, and he resumed pacing. After another few moments, he came to a decision. Mr. Aizawa pulled a chair from the other side of the room, and sat facing me. He dark eyes were narrowed, not in anger at me, I realized. He was trying to solve something, and it was driving him mad.

"I have one rule." He said. "It is that I will never send my students into something that they are not prepared for."

"It sounds like a good rule…" I said, lamely.

If possible, his bloodshot gaze narrowed even further. "I need to know, if it means saving someone, are you prepared to forcefully use your quirk?"

My chest tightened. I looked down at the ground, a low thrumming filled my ears. What did he just say? Hadn't I said how much I hated my quirk? Why would he ask me that?

I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I looked back up at my teacher. His gaze had softened. "That was an illogical question. I'm sorry." He gave an attempt at a reassuring smile, but it looked more like a grimace. "It would be easier to show, rather than tell you. Will you come with me?"

I numbly nodded. Without another word, Mr. Aizawa led me down the stairs, out the building, and into the school parking lot. We entered a small black sedan, and took off in the direction of downtown.

The ride was maybe fifteen minutes, but it stretched on for hours. My mind wouldn't stop racing, trying to come up with reasons to say no to Mr. Aizawa's question. My heart kept telling me no. No, it wouldn't use Extract without someone's expressed permission, even to save a life. I had sworn that away forever. A little voice in the back of my head, a speck of resistance, refuted that. Hadn't I done that just a few days before, to stop Nomu from killing me?

No, I hadn't. Nomu was an abomination without a sliver of self awareness, I rationalized. If Nomu had been a regular villain, I wouldn't have taken its quirk.

Probably.

Maybe.

Shit.

"Watanabi." Mr. Aizawa's voice jolted me out of my stupor. The car had stopped, and he had already opened my door. "We're here."

I shakily stepped out of the car and looked around. A white and red sign above the entrance to a multi-story building told me exactly where we were. 'Musutafu General Hospital'.

I looked up at my teacher, confused. He simply inclined his head towards the door, stuck his hands in his pockets, and walked forward. Without regard to my speed, he kept walking past the front desk, up a set of stairs, and down multiple hallways. Mr. Aizawa had regained his stressed demeanor, seemingly lost in his own head.

We eventually came to an isolated room with a viewing window next to the door. While it was open, Mr. Aizawa stopped me before I could peer into the room. He sat me down in a set of chairs across from the door.

"I need to tell you a few things, before we go in." Mr. Aizawa said, voice grim. "And I need you to know, I say them as a pro-hero and not as your teacher. You can refuse if you need to."

I sat, eyes wide, and stared at my teacher. The weight of the fear in my stomach was nearly overwhelming. What was so wrong that I couldn't see it until I was briefed?

Mr. Aizawa sat down next to me and let his eyes unfocus across the hall. "Yesterday, at roughly 5 pm, there was a break in at a small time convenience store downtown, just a few blocks from here. It was your basic armed robbery, two punks robbed the clerk at gunpoint and tried to make away with a few hundred bucks in a bag. It would have been over and done with, the store was even insured." Mr. Aizawa took a breath, sighing with disappointment. "If one of the people in the store hadn't been a hero-in-training, the story wouldn't have even made the news. The problem was that a student of a lower-tier hero school was present when the robbery happened."

My throat became a desert, and my eyelids felt like iron. I knew where this story was going, because I knew where it would go if I had been the student.

"She attempted to stop the crooks, but one shot her in the back while the other grabbed her attention." I inhaled a shallow breath. "The bullet lodged itself in her spine, and she was rushed here to get medical attention. They tried to operate to remove the bullet, but the girl's quirk activated and they were unable to continue the surgery." My hands began to shake, and my skin went cold. "They called me in this morning to see if I could stop her quirk during the surgery, but I couldn't keep my damn eyes open the entire time!" Mr. Aizawa's voice suddenly rose, and grabbed his bandages with one hand and slammed his other fist down into the side of his chair. I jumped at the movement.

He looked at me, his eyes focusing for the first time since this conversation had begun. "You have a quirk that might save this girl." He said, voice now quieter than a whisper. "It is your choice, but I have done everything within my power, and I failed."

I sat there, for more than a few moments, staring at the ground. Slowly, I stood, walking down the hallway to the viewing window. I turned to see this brave hero-in-training, and my heart stopped.

There was no way.

How could it be her?

Blonde hair, now spread across her pillow instead of the pony tail that it had been.

Tanned skin, though it was far paler than it had been last time.

There, in that bed, was the teleporting girl from the entrance exam.

* * *

My feet had carried me before I could think about what I was doing. I ran. I ran away from the hospital. I ran away from Eraserhead. I ran away from that girl. I ran until my injured lungs wouldn't support me anymore, until my vision tunneled and I had to stop. I found an empty bench, nestled between two buildings, and I sat. I cried, and then I took a breath and began to cry more.

It wasn't until my phone began to buzz that I stopped. I wiped my eyes, and I reached for my phone. There were two text messages, and they made my heart sink even more.

[4:47 PM] Momo Yaoyorozu: Hello, Kyou. I was wondering what time I should get there? I realize now that we forgot to set an exact time.

[5:12 PM] Momo Yaoyorozu: Where are you?

I went to type a response, but I dropped my phone as I touched the keyboard. My hands were still shaking. Taking a few deep breaths, I tried to stop moving. I barely slowed my motions, but I managed to pick up my phone and enter a response.

[5:13 PM] Me: I'm running a bit late, I'll be there in fifteen minutes.

I placed my phone into my back pocket and hailed a taxi. The driver didn't ask any questions, though he did shoot me several strange looks. The ride cost me more than I was comfortable with, but it got me to the cafe on time. By the time I arrived, I had wiped away most evidence of the breakdown, and I was looking mostly normal.

The cafe, Daybreak Coffee, was a small hole-in-the-wall that Gran had brought me to a few years ago. There were only five booths and a small counter where you could order the majority of drinks that large chains had at about half the price. The owners were friends with my grandparents, and I'd been coming for a long time.

Besides the barista, the cafe was sparsely populated, only two of the booths had people in them. All the way in the back, I saw the large tuft of a familiar black ponytail crowning over the seat back. I made my way back to Momo, smiling slightly when I saw what was on her table. Of course she was doing homework.

As I approached, Momo turned back and caught sight of me. "Hello Kyou, I was wonder-" Her satisfied tone stopped midway, and her voice spiked with worry. "What's wrong?"

Shit. She could see through me that easily? I slid into the booth opposite her, and placed leaned my forehead onto my palms. "A lot of things." I said simply.

A cool hand grasped mine, and pulled it away from my face. Momo looked at me, her expression saying it all. "You need to elaborate. What happened?"

"I-" I hiccuped, feeling the tears that I'd already shed attempting to come back. I forced them down. "I'm a terrible person who is letting someone die because I'm a coward." I said, looking Momo in the eye.

She recoiled, eyes widening in shock. "Who? Why?"

I looked down at the table, misery enveloping my being. I pulled my hand away from Momo's. I didn't deserve that after today. "There was this girl, who got shot." I heard Momo gasp. "The doctors can't operate because her quirk keeps activating, and Mr. Aizawa can't keep his eyes open the whole procedure. He brought me there to try to get me to save her. I ran away. I might as well have shot her myself." This time, I didn't completely succeed in stopping the tears.

Momo gripped my hand back from the table, and buried her nails into it, forcing me to look her in the eyes. So many emotions were passing over her face, but I could only make out a few. Pity. Sorrow. Rage.

Her brown eyes bore into mine. "I have only learned a few things in my short time at U.A., and one of those things is that you are not a coward." She said, gritting every word to make sure that I heard it. "What is the real reason you won't save this girl?"

God damn it! How many times was I going to be surprised when Momo said something that broke past my own shitty reasoning? I looked away. "Because I've met this girl before, and I can't take away her quirk. Even if it meant saving her life."

"Kyou." Momo pleaded. "I can't help you if you don't stop shutting down. Talk this out with me. Where have you met her, and why can't you help her?"

I sighed. "She was at my entrance exam. She failed because she couldn't get enough points, and I saw first hand the impact it had on her." I picked at the edge of the table. "I couldn't take the quirk of someone who want to be a hero that badly."

There was a few moments as Momo considered my words. Her grip had lessened, and her nails no longer pinched my skin. "See…" She sighed, energy lowering from her previous anger. "That's not cowardice."

"But it is! My choices are going to kill her." I said helplessly. "I can't do it, because even if she lives, she couldn't be a hero anymore. What kind of life is that?"

"That's not your choice, Kyou. You're not choosing what life she might lead. You're choosing if she'll have a life to lead at all."

That was the sentence that made me stop. It shook my core beliefs. Using Extract on someone without their permission went against everything that I'd built up over the years, against everything that I'd told my class just yesterday. But it also supported all those things. Wasn't I the one who said I wanted to fight for those that couldn't? This girl, I didn't even know her name, couldn't make her own choice, not without my intervention.

I looked up at Momo. She was no longer piercing my soul with her gaze. Instead, she had continued to grip my hand, to offer me support as I thought through my decision. "Do you have Mr. Aizawa's number?" I said weakly.

Mom gave me a soft smile, interlocking our fingers. "Yes, let me call him for you."

She pulled out her phone, swiped a few strokes on the keypad, and passed it to me with the call already ringing.

"Hello?" I heard a tired voice sigh over the line.

"Mr. Aizawa, it's me." I looked up at Momo, her eyes full of approval. "I'm going to do it."

* * *

 **So yeah, lots of things tend to happen in the shorter chapters, huh? We're starting to look at the fact that not everybody came out of the USJ super kosher, especially not Yaoyorozu with her psuedo-survivor's guilt. And then, the girl from the Entrance Exam shows up out of nowhere! Kyou has a full panic attack concerning that choice, because, you know, he's human. That author guy, he's a real piece of work! Anyway, onto reviews!**

 **Josuke21- Yeah, Aizawa is a pretty cool guy, even if he does project that spiny exterior. He's a really good teacher, and I tried to reflect that as much as I could. Of course, then he goes and gets one of his students involved in something crazy, so who am I to say?**

 **The next chapter is gonna feature the first gentle extraction ya'll have gotten to see, so I'm super hype for you guys! Anyway, don't forget to favorite, follow, or review! See ya next Sunday!**

 **The next chapter will be out on Sunday, March 10th!**


	14. Chapter 14

Momo and I waited for Mr. Aizawa on a bench outside the cafe. The sun had just set, so it was starting to cool down. I felt Momo shiver next to me, and goosebumps appeared across her skin. I hadn't realized it, but she had changed between school and coming here. Her casual blouse and shirt were stunning, but not suited for the cold.

I shuffled for a moment, pulling off my school blazer. "Here." I offered it to her.

Momo looked up at it, before quickly averting her eyes, cheeks flushed slightly. "It's fine. I can just make myself one-"

"But this one's already warm." I gave her a weak smile. "Least I can do after you pulled me out of my own head."

Momo paused before returning my smile. She nodded, and leaned forward. I shifted the jacket onto her back, so that it hung off her shoulders. After a moment, she leaned her head onto my shoulder, and we sat comfortably.

"I'm sorry I can't come with you." She all but whispered. "I'll need to go home after you leave."

A warm feeling filled my chest. "It's fine. You've done enough." I shifted slightly, letting her hand fall in to mine. I wasn't sure what this was, but it felt nice. "I'll keep up updated on everything that happens."

Her smile widened. "You'd better."

It was only a few more moments before headlights announced the arrival of a familiar black sedan. Momo and I sat up and she moved to remove my blazer.

"Keep it." I said.

"But.." Momo gave me a look of worry before her eyes flickered to the waiting car.

"I'll get it tomorrow." I gave a wide smile. "Thank you for everything."

She nodded, and stood. I made my way to the car, looking back at her as she hailed a taxi. My heart sunk slightly at the prospect of leaving, but I needed to do this. I'd already backpedaled once today, and I wasn't going to do it again.

I slid into the front seat of the sedan. Eraserhead sat in the driver's seat, and he inclined his head as I entered the car. His eyes shown from behind his bandages, and they asked a silent question.

I sighed. "Yes, she talked me into it."

"I should thank her, then." Mr. Aizawa said. He turned his gaze away and began to drive.

* * *

The ride back to the hospital was less than a half an hour, though it moved quickly. Before I knew it, we were walking back through the sterile white halls of the emergency ward. My shoes squeaked on the smooth tiles, creating the only noise besides the drone of medical equipment.

There, ahead of us, was the viewing window. I stepped past it, towards the door, but I stopped when I looked into the room. Instead of only holding the girl, there was now a man seated at her bedside. He hard short dark brown hair, and a tired, scarred face. He held the girl's hand and whispered something inaudible to her as she slept.

Mr. Aizawa led me past the window and into the room. As we entered, the man stood, revealing a long black trench coat and dark fatigues. A hero costume. The man's gaze met mine, and I recognized his blue eyes. They were the same ones that had mischievously twinkled during my entrance exam.

My teacher walked forward, clasping the man in a quick hug. The man returned it, and they broke apart, both turning to look at me. Mr. Aizawa spoke. "Haigawa, this is Kyousuke Watanabi, one of my students." He gestured at me, and I bowed. "He's the one I told you about."

The man, Haigawa, stepped forward, giving me a dark look. I almost stepped back, his gaze was piercing. As he reached me, though, his shoulders fell, and he offered his hand. "You might be able to save her?" His deep voice echoed sorrow and exhaustion.

I gulped, and nodded shakily. I grasped his hand, and it nearly enveloped my own. My words almost failed me, but I spoke up. "I-I don't know if Mr. Aizawa told you, but in order to do so-"

The hero's eyes shimmered, filling with moisture. "I know." He said solemnly. He bowed his head. "Please, save my Sarah."

I nodded, and made my way to her bedside. I looked back at the both of them. "I need the room to do this. It's just for my concentration…" I said uncertainly, glancing back at my teacher.

Both of them nodded, and stepped outside. I could see them in chairs outside of the viewing window, but now I could begin to concentrate. I looked down at the girl, and took a seat.

Sarah. That was her name. I took a moment and looked at her. I studied her golden hair, the way it fell limply across her pillow. It used to be so bouncy and full of life. Even the smile that I'd seen only a few times in the brief moments that we'd interacted, was covered by a respirator. Momo was right, this girl needed my help.

I took her temples into my hands, and felt the pull of Extract take me. My mind probed outwards, feeling the space around me. It was odd, activating it so soon after the last time. My mental muscles were sore and tired from the abuse that they had taken from Nomu's mind, but there was a serenity about the air this time. It allowed me to gently push past the pain, and reach towards the quirk in front of me.

My mind entered hers and I was immediately soothed by the cool blue aura that surrounded it. When compared to the violent, purplish red that had permeated the mind of the Nomu, this mind was soft and inviting, like sitting in a park on a sunny day.

I pushed further into her mind, past just sensing her quirk, and deep into its inner workings. This quirk was gentle, but powerful. Silvery threads wrapped around her quirk, creating a beautiful web that connected it to the rest of her mind. I plucked at one, and a soft chord filled the air. This was the way a quirk was supposed to be, whole and intact. It hurt my heart, knowing what I was about to do.

I grasped one of the threads lightly, and lowered my mental scalpel, cutting with more care and precision than I had ever attempted. One after the other, the tethers fell without a fight. There was no mind currently awake enough to protect this quirk. The threads glimmered and swayed as I released them, retreating farther back into the mind.

Finally, my hand fell on to the last tether, the last piece that gave this girl, Sarah, such a beautiful power. My heart sank even farther. If I left this, if I didn't sever this last thread, the rest would eventually return, and she would heal. I shook my head, knowing that it wasn't an option. I cut the thread.

My mind was forced out, no longer connected to anything. In my grasp was a silver ball of power that I stored away, far in the back of my mind. Now was not the time to integrate this quirk, if there ever even was one.

I opened my eyes. The room was almost completely dark, the lights of the medical equipment to only thing illuminating the small space. A cool breeze circled the room, and I felt my cheeks go cold. I wiped them, only to draw my hand away moist. Tears. I guess that made sense.

I looked out the viewing window. Mr. Aizawa was asleep, sleeping bag on and leaned back in his chair. Haigawa, however, stared at me, eyes full of sorrow. He raised his shoulders, asking a silent question. I nodded. He bowed his head, and I saw water fall. His shoulders raised and fell, but the deed was done.

* * *

After we informed the doctors that her quirk would no longer impede the surgery, the medical team shuffled us away into a waiting room. They were to operate immediately, as the optimal window was quickly passing.

Mr. Mitsugi, as I'd heard the staff call Haigawa, was staring into space, his eyes blank. Mr. Aizawa had moved his sleeping bag into this room, but was now sitting up in tired anxiety. We all were waiting for the surgery to finish, though they'd said it would be multiple hours.

After the first hour, Mr. Aizawa stood, tying his hair into a bun. "I am going to find coffee. Do either of you need anything?"

I looked up from my phone, where I was typing out a message to Momo, and shook my head. It was well after 1 AM, but I was going to be sick if I drank anything. Mr. Mitsugi looked towards his friend, and also refused.

Without another word, Mr. Aizawa left, leaving only myself and Mr. Mitsugi in the room. It took a few moments to work up the courage, but I eventually stood and walked to the tired father. I bowed my head, and spoke. "I am so sorry for what I have done to your daughter…" I said, not sure what I could really do to convey my feelings.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, warm and large. I looked up, and Mr. Mitsugi's eyes were again filled with tears. "Son." His baritone voice cracked. "You gave my daughter a chance. Don't ever be sorry for that." He pulled down, forcing me into the seat next to him.

I was speechless. I gaped at him, and my confusion showed. He spoke again. "I met Sarah's mother many years ago on a trip to America. She was just like Sarah, full of life." His eyes glazed over as he spoke, memories filling his vision. "I was entranced by her, and the beautiful power she had. Carol could bend light itself, creating the most dazzling rainbows. It pulled me in, and we fell in love. We had a child. My wife passed away soon after, taken by sickness."

"I was so happy when Sarah's quirk manifested." He continued, tears freely falling down his face. "It was my quirk, but with all of the beauty of her mother's. I couldn't have asked for a better reminder of my wife. I didn't realize that I had something better, though." Mr. Mitsugi looked up at me, eyes grateful. "I would rather have my daughter, more than any quirk. At least it will still be in the hands of someone who will use it for good. I will always be thankful for what you've done today."

I choked up. Today had been an emotional day, and I couldn't take it anymore. I leaned forward and gave this man a deep and caring hug. We had just met, but this event guaranteed that these people were in my life now. He returned it hesitantly, but he returned it all the same.

Mr. Aizawa came back after a half an hour, clutching a tray of three steaming drinks. We both took one, thankful for the energy. We sat in silence, waiting for the verdict. It was going to be a long night, regardless of the outcome.

* * *

It wasn't until 4 AM that the surgeon came to speak with us. He walked into the room, weary and slouched. He held a clipboard in his hands and kept glancing down at his notes.

"The surgery was successful." He sighed, looking at each of us. There was a moment of elation, before the doctor's expression made me stop.

"What's wrong?" Mr. Mitsugi and I asked at the same time, fear lacing our voices.

The doctor scratched at the back of his hair cap, looking away for a moment. "The removal of the bullet was successful, but we encountered something else as we completed several post-surgery procedures." The doctor steeled himself, putting his clipboard to his side. "The patient should have awoken by now, but she has not regained consciousness since the surgery."

Fear and despair lanced through my heart, but Mr. Mitsugi beat me to the question. "What happened? Why won't she wake up?" He stood, almost pleading with the doctor.

"There is no medical issue causing her comatose state. We-" He stopped. "I am under the assumption that without the defensive mechanism of her quirk, the patient's body has put itself into the catatonic state to protect itself and heal."

I dropped back into my chair. I caused this? My hands began to shake, my face went numb. Distantly, I could hear them still speaking. "Is there any way to wake her up?" Mr. Mitsugi said, voice cracking.

"There is nothing medically that we can do." The doctor apologized. "If my assumption is correct, then the patient should naturally awaken once her body adjusts, but I have no time frame for when that might happen."

"But she will wake up?" His voice desperate.

"There is a distinct possibility that she will, though I must inform you that several of my colleagues disagree with my diagnosis." The doctor said, warning the hopeful father.

"Thank you." Mr. Mitsugi said as he collapsed into his chair.

The doctor left without another word. Mr. Aizawa, who had been standing against the back wall of the waiting room until now, came up behind me and laid his hand on my shoulder. "We should go, then. There is nothing more we can do."

I nodded numbly, still empty after the news. I stood, and began to follow my teacher.

"Kyousuke." A sad voice called from behind me. I turned, and Mr. Mitsugi was looking my way.

I raised my head, not willing myself to speak. The hero's gaze was trained on my own. "I think you'll make a good hero. Thank you for everything you have done for my family."

I couldn't say anything in response, but I nodded. I turned away and followed Mr. Aizawa back out to the car.

When we finally slid into our respective seats, Mr. Aizawa let out a disappointed sigh and stared at the steering wheel. "You shouldn't be alone tonight." He said without looking at me. "Do you have anyone you can stay with?"

I shook my head, and he nodded. "Alright then, you'll stay at my house tonight."

The drive was short, only twenty minutes at most, but it was more than enough to mull over the day. All of the decisions made and tears shed, only to end in a stalemate. Sarah was neither healed nor save by my actions, only suspended even longer. I couldn't save one person, and it had taken me hours to even decide to try.

My thoughts turned to the other girl who'd been at my side today. Momo had talked me through possibly the hardest decision I had ever made. And there was that moment outside of the cafe, one were I could temporarily forget how bad the day had been. I had only known this girl a week, but it felt like she'd been there my entire life. I wasn't sure what we were. There was something between us now, something that just clicked, but I wasn't in the right place to pursue it right now.

Before I could sink further into my thoughts, we arrived at a tall apartment building on the north side of town. Mr. Aizawa led me up several floors and into a small, corner apartment. It was homey and quaint. There was a large bookshelf across from a moderate couch, with no tv in sight. A small kitchen sat in the corner, well stocked shelves gleaming. As I walked forward, there was a pressure around my ankles. Looking down, I saw two cats, one white and one black, weaving around my legs and greeting me.

I looked back at my teacher, who was unloading his bag onto the counter and pulling off his scarf. It made sense that he was a cat person. I leaned down and rubbed the ears of the cats, grateful for some soft company.

Mr. Aizawa walked down a small hallway and rummaged around for a moment, returning with a thick blanket and a fresh pillow. "You can sleep on the couch." He sighed. "Don't worry about setting an alarm. I called the principal and we are both excused from classes for tomorrow."

I nodded, picking up the black cat and making my way to the couch. "What are their names?" I asked, speaking for the first time since the hospital.

"Kuro and Shiro." He said, picking up the white cat. He stroked behind it's ears until it began to purr.

"That's lazy naming." I complained, thinking of my own cat. "You could have named this little guy something more imaginative than 'black'."

"That's Shiro." Mr. Aizawa said, turning towards his room. "Good night." He closed his door behind him.

I gaped at the door. After a moment, a smile cracked my face. "Well played, Mr. Aizawa." I said softly. I grabbed the blanket that he had laid out and curled up on the couch. I pulled out my phone, and saw there was an unread message from Momo.

[4:26 AM] Momo Yaoyorozu: Has the surgery completed yet?

My heart sank. Now that I had looked at the message, I couldn't leave it until morning. She'd know.

[4:52 AM] Me: Yes.

[4:52 AM] Me: What are you still doing awake?

It was less than a minute before her reply came.

[4:53 AM] Momo Yaoyorozu: I couldn't sleep. Not before I knew how it went.

[4:53 AM] Momo Yaoyorozu: How did the surgery go?

I clenched my phone slightly. I sighed and began to type.

[4:55 AM] Me: She didn't wake up. The doctor thinks she shut down because I took her quirk.

[4:56 AM] Me: We don't know when she'll wake up.

The 'typing' symbol appeared for a long while before the next message came, so I was surprised when it was short.

[5:01 AM] Momo Yaoyorozu: I'm sorry.

I cringed and the knife in my heart twisted a little bit further.. What had happened wasn't her fault, and she didn't need more crap thrown on her plate by my problems.

[5:03 AM] Me: You have nothing to be sorry about.

[5:03 AM] Me: I'll tell you more about it tomorrow? Mr. Aizawa excused me from class.

Her response made my heart pang.

[5:04 AM] Momo Yaoyorozu: I'll meet you at the cafe after school. Maybe we can try our meet-up again?

[5:05 AM] Me: Sure. Goodnight, Momo.

[5:05 AM] Momo Yaoyorozu: Good morning, Kyou.

I taken aback as I read her last text. After a moment, chuckle made its way out of my lips, surprising me. She still corrected me, knowing the kind of day that I had. I laid all the way out on the couch, Shiro curled up on my chest. Today had been terrible, that was undeniable. But as I reread my conversation with Momo, I realized that I had gained something today. I had gained a person who cared enough about me to ignore her own problems and put mine first. That was something that you didn't encounter every day. There was a small, hopeful smile on my face as I drifted off to sleep.

* * *

…

…

 **... It took me an embarrassingly long time to write/edit that chapter, just because of the feels. Some stuff definitely went down, both on the positive and negative ends of the spectrum. Well, what can you do, right? Tis the life of a hero.**

 **Regardless, thank you all so much for taking the time to read this chapter, because it's one of those that I've had in my head for a while! I'm both dreading and looking forward to the character development that gets to happen across the story due to this one encounter.**

 **Oi Teme - Thank you so much for your two reviews! Did I hit your expectations for Momo moments? Cause that opening was super sweet. Though it's gonna be a bit before anything really happens there, I hope that it ends up being satisfying. And in terms of Kyou quirk stealing, I definitely had him steal a villain's quirk, though maybe not the one you were routing for. He probably won't be picking up more in the immediate future, mostly because he just got two and hasn't integrated even them yet, but he still has plenty of room to grow.**

 **ILiekFishes - No joke, I got your review right before I had to take a huge test and it made me choke up, so thanks for that. Your kind of review always gets to me, and I super appreciate the time you took to compliment my story. Sorry if this chapter didn't have as many laughs (or any at all), but we'll be getting back to some humor soon. Thank you for your amazing review.**

 **Josuke21 - Yeah, I tried to show the struggle that would come with this decision as much as possible, mostly because anyone would have a hard time here. The idea of her reaction once she awakens isn't even something Kyou has considered yet, because he's not as worried about her opinion. He's more worried about crushing her dreams and future, but that is totally a viable option for when she awakens, though.**

 **Thank you all so much for giving my story some time out of your day! Please remember to follow and favorite so you know when I drop the next bonus chapter, and review so that chapter can be better than it would normally be!**

 **For those of you who won't be following yet, the next guaranteed chapter will be out Sunday, March 24th!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey, guys. Sorry there was no bonus chapter between updates, but the last couple weeks have been ridiculously busy. Between finishing midterms and work, plus a back and knee injury, my schedule has been torn asunder. Regardless, I'm so grateful for those of you have have stuck around and kept up reading! Here's this week's installment of JAH!**

* * *

I woke up with drool slowly pooling in my mouth, nose twitching. Something was cooking, and it smelt delicious. I slowly cracked my eyes and looked over to the small kitchenette. Mr. Aizawa stood there, clad in sweatpants and a t-shirt, hair pulled up in a loose knot. New bandages shown across his eye line. He was slouched over the stove, absentmindedly stirring food around a large cast iron skillet.

I stood, lifting Shiro off my chest in the process, and wandered over to my teacher. He glanced my way, and nodded to acknowledge my presence. He lifted the skillet, pouring a mix of vegetables and meat over two bowls of rice. "Eat." He said, handing me one. I took it gratefully.

We both stood at the counter, scarfing down our breakfast. It was only a few minutes before both bowls clinked back onto the counter. I decided to be a decent human being and began to wash the dishes, starting with the rice pot. As I scrubbed, Mr. Aizawa made his way to the couch and pulled out his phone, presumably looking through his messages.

I paused after a few moments, letting my hands rest in the sink. "Mr. Aizawa…" I said, a weight in my chest. He looked up with a raised eyebrow. "I just wanted to say thank you."

He nodded, and looked back down. "What happened was rough on all of us. And logically, you were the one it was going to affect the most. I simply made sure to mitigate what I could."

I sighed, and nodded in turn. I began to scrub again. It took more than a few minutes to finish, but I joined my teacher on the couch, We sat next to each other, each looking at our respective phones in comfortable silence.

Checking the time, it was a few minutes past noon, and there were a few new texts on it. Mina had begun a group chat between her, myself, and Kirishima. I began to read, but took me a moment to adjust to Mina's messaging style.

[7:51 AM] Mina Ashido: Kyou! where the heck r u? Ur gna b late!

[7:54 AM] Eijiro Kirishima: Seriously, man. Are you sick or something? Yaoyorozu said something was up, but she didn't say what!

[7:56 AM] Mina Ashido: Yaomomo said u were with Mr A. R u in trouble?

[7:56 AM] Mina Ashido: w

[7:57 AM] Eijiro Kirishima: Text us when you can man. We're worried.

[11:43 AM] Mina Ashido: OMG KYOU!

[11:43 AM] Mina Ashido: Yaomomo just told us what happnd!

[11:43 AM] Mina Ashido: Im so sry!

After those had been sent, there was a message from Kirishima privately.

[11:47 AM] Eijiro Kirishima: I'm sorry, dude.

[11:47 AM] Eijiro Kirishima: Get in contact when you can.

Attached to that message was an image. Mina, Kirishima, and Momo were all in a selfie taken at the table where we normally ate lunch. Mina was holding the phone, so I could only assume she had snatched it from Kirishima. There were tear streaks across her cheeks, but she was giving a wide grin to the camera. Kirishima had a smile that was slightly undercut by his worried, furrowed brow. I chuckled when I realized that his manly arm pump was just out of frame. Momo was the one that got me, though. She was sitting a little separated from the other two, giving the camera a sad smile and performing a gentle air bump with her right hand. Scrawled across the bottom of the image were three words: 'We miss you.'

"You have good friends." A tired, rumbly voice came from my left.

I quickly wiped my eyes and looked at my teacher, who had leaned over to look at the photo. "Yeah, they are pretty great…" I said, returning my gaze to my friends.

"Are you going to see them today?"

I bit my lip, thinking about last night's texts. "Yeah, after school gets out."

"That's good. You need friends like that once you become a pro, kid. " He sighed, sitting up and stretching. "Let me get dressed, I'll drive you home."

* * *

A few hours later, I found myself sitting alone in a booth at Daybreak Coffee. I had showered and changed into some casual wear, a simple button up with the sleeves rolled up to my elbows and some jeans. I was clutching a small cup of coffee that I had ordered to pass the time.

Though I had been up all night, there was an odd jittery feeling in the bottom of my stomach. I couldn't stop adjust my hair, and I kept catching my leg tapping uncontrollably. What the hell was I so nervous about? I was just meeting up with Momo, there was no reason to be some anxious.

My thoughts flashed to just last night, what now felt like a million years ago. I thought about a black ponytail draped over my shoulder, a warm hand on mine. I felt my cheeks warm, and shook my head furiously.

Shit. I had it bad already.

And this time there was no emergency that would redirect the conversation. It was just going to be me and Momo, and no one else. Wait, is this a date? No. No, it couldn't be. Dates were supposed to be established by both parties before they took place. But what if was? What was the etiquette here? Is there some way I was supposed to greet her, instead of just saying hi? Was I supposed to bring something, like flowers? Shit, I didn't have any flowers. Maybe if I have time, I can leave now and be back by-

A gentle tap on my shoulder jolted me out of my thoughts. I look up, startled. Momo was standing there, dressed in a similar blouse and skirt to what she had worn yesterday, but this time they were tans and reds, the same color as her hero costume. Her hair was let down, long black strands falling over one shoulder.

I stared dumbly at her, stunned. "Uh- hi?" I said, mouth not having to quite caught up to my thoughts yet.

"Hi." Momo's eyes glimmered with amusement. "I was calling your name, but you seemed too focused on the table to hear me."

"Well, it is a fine piece of craftsmanship. Tables as eloquent as this one should be studied with as much respect as possible." I said, grin widening.

Momo giggled. Yes! For my brain still only running around half capacity, that was a wittier comment than I could have hoped for! And she laughed at it! Score one for Team Kyou!

From behind her back, Momo supplied a large blazer, on a hanger and draped in a thin layer of clear plastic. She held it out, face flushing slightly. "This is yours. I had it cleaned."

My thoughts returned to last night, and I felt myself redden in turn. "Thanks." I said, taking it and placing it beside me. Momo shuffled into her seat across from me, sitting a small handbag between herself and the wall.

There was a pause in the conversation. I sat with my eyes slightly averted, not sure how to continue.

"So-"

"How-"

We interrupted each other, and I reddened even further. "You go first." I said.

"No, it's fine." Momo took a breath, giving a small grin. "Please, after you."

I smiled gratefully. "I was just going to thank you again. Last night was really hard for me, and I needed to hear what you had to say." I bowed my head.

"Kyou." I looked up, and Momo's face had taken on a look somewhere between gratefulness and exasperation. "You don't have to thank me. I owed it to you to give you the help that you needed. That is the reason that you have friends."

Her response simultaneously made my heart rise and my stomach sink. For some reason, the word 'friend' made me uneasy. Was that what this was going to be? I mentally shook my head to clear my thoughts. Now wasn't the time for that.

"Still, I appreciate it." I said.

"And I appreciate you." Momo's small smiles were going to be the death of me. "Speaking of, how are you feeling? From what you messaged, I can't imagine that you're having an easy time."

"I don't think it's really set in, yet." I said. Looking down at my small cup of coffee, I thought back to Mr. Mitsuji. "They don't know when, if ever, she'll wake up. All I can do know is wait."

A warm hand wrapped around mine, filling me with a familiar feeling of warmth. I looked up, and Momo's eyes had a kind, tender look to them. She had leaned forward, and I could now smell her sweet, floral perfume over the coffee scent of the cafe. "And you'll have all the support you'll need until then." She said.

I almost melted, right then and there. "Thanks, Momo." I gripped her hand, giving it a slight squeeze. We sat in gentle silence for a long while, neither of us eager to break the atmosphere. Without the conversation to guide it, however, seemingly random thoughts popped into my head.

"Hey?" I said, hesitantly.

"Yes?" Momo eyes cleared of a slight haze.

"The other day, when we were talking after class, what was it you wanted to say?"

Momo's hand pulled from mine, and her skin regained a flushed tone. "It's not important." She said in a high voice, brushing hair hair back from her face.

"Are you sure?" I asked skeptically. "The whole reason we were going to meet here yesterday was because you wanted to talk to me."

"Yes, it's fine." She gave a forced smile. "Instead I have something else to ask, if you don't mind."

I was still curious, but it was clear she didn't want to talk about it. I wonder what got her so worked up, though. "Go for it." I said, taking a sip of my coffee.

"I was wondering if you would take up sparing with me?"

I choked slightly. "What?"

"After what happened in the USJ, I realized how behind I was in hand to hand fighting. You were able to take down that whole group of villains on your own." Momo's shoulders slumped forward slightly. "I did next to nothing."

"First of all, that's not true. You took down the last two regular guys, and the boss." I said. "And second, sure."

"You would have taken them out regardless-" She stopped, eyes widening. "You'll do it?"

"Well, yeah." I shrugged nonchalantly. "You don't have to explain yourself to me. It's like you said, I owe it to you."

Momo's grin widened drastically, her shoulders straightening. The competitive spirit that she'd displayed during the combat trials was rearing its head again. "Thank you! I'll do my best!" She bowed her head in gratitude.

"W-well, don't expect anything too soon." I said, taken aback by her eagerness. "Recovery Girl hasn't cleared me for combat yet, so we might not be able to start for a while."

"Thank you, Kyou." Momo repeated, her earnest excitement shone through her dark eyes. "I feel like this is the first step in bridging the gap between myself and the strongest members of our class."

"Are you kidding?" I asked. "You took down Katsuki 'Die in Hell!' Bakugou with one move! Just because you have room to improve with your hand to hand, you're more than scary enough on your own."

Momo's excitement flickered, and the smallest shadow of doubt passed across her face. "That didn't make a difference, though…"

It didn't take long much to understand what she was talking about. "Hey. We already agreed you that you didn't do anything wrong at the USJ. You got Mr. Aizawa out of there, that is the only fact that matters." I did my best impression of a reassuring smile.

Momo tried to return to my expression, but didn't say anything. After a moment, I grasped her hand and stood both of us up. Her eyes shot up, confused. "Let's get out of here." I said. "I have something in mind."

* * *

A short cab ride later, we stood at the curb of my apartment building. Momo hadn't spoken much on the way here, but her expression more than betrayed her curiosity. "Who's are we visiting?" She asked, looking around.

"Well, we're not visiting a person, per se. This is my house, and there's something that I thought you might want to see." As I spoke, I was very conscious of the fact that neither of us had moved to unclasp our hands on the trip here. I was also aware of the fact that my hand was warm. Shit, was my palm sweaty? No! Don't think about it, because then it'll definitely sweat.

I shook my head. Still not the time, brain. There was no reason to notice that while my left hand was in Momo's, my right was just hanging awkwardly to my side. No reason to notice that my breathing was irregular. Dammit, now I can't stop noticing the time between each breath.

Why was this so much more difficult than it had been with Kirishima and Mina? They were my friends too- Oh. That was why. 'Friends'. Stupid word, friends. Think about it too much, and you end up realizing that certain people don't quite warrant that word anymore.

I led Momo around the side of the building to a small wooden fence, and to a small greenhouse after that. As we approached, her expression shifted to one of understanding. I opened the sliding door, and stepped into my fortress of solitude.

The aroma that wafted outwards immediately calmed my nerves. The rich scents of my herb garden mixed with sweet fragrance of the flowerbeds was soothing yet energizing, like a hot tea that was loaded with caffeine. The sun shone through the glass panels in the ceiling, draping the center plot with lavish rays of light. Tendrils of ivy wrapped around posts on the walls, giving the room a fantasy-like ethereal feeling. I couldn't have planned a better moment to show off my garden.

I felt the hand in my grasp go limp, and I turned to see Momo's jaw drop. Her eyes were as wide as saucers, reflecting the meanagery of colors in front of her. I let her stare, selfishly enjoying the compliment to my work that her speechlessness implied.

After a few moments, Momo turned to me. "Kyou, this is amazing." She said. "We have multiple gardners at my home, and they have done nothing like what you've accomplished here."

"Thank you." I said, taking the compliment for what it was. "I don't have much to show off in my life, but showing people my garden is starting to be a rite of passage for people I want to keep around."

She just smiled instead of trying to respond, though I saw a hint of heat return to her cheeks. We stood, enjoying the rich and peaceful atmosphere. It was simple, and it was what I really needed.

* * *

 **This chapter was originally a lot longer than this, but that felt like that was a sweet spot to end it on, especially after the emotionally twister of the last chapter. So, really short chapter, but I think more fulfilling than if I had crammed in the stuff that I was originally going to. Pretty much just fluff, but we all need some fluff in our lives every once in a while.**

 **Anyway, the next chapter is going to be all stuff getting us ready for the Sports Festival! I'm super excited to get back to the action, and I hope you all are as well!**

 **ILiekFishes - Dude, the choking up was a great thing! The narcissism that positive reviews instill in me is what I live for! As long as y'all keep reviewing, I'll keep writing! Thanks so much for your review.**

 **The next guaranteed chapter will come out on the 7th of April! Make sure to follow or favorite to keep up with any bonus chapters that might pop up! This is Rel, signing out.**


	16. Chapter 16

"Well, sonny, they're as good as they're going to get any time soon." I winced as Recovery Girl placed her cold stethoscope on my back. "I'm still not quite comfortable with your breathing, but it's not enough to make you sit out the festival."

A weak smile flitted across my face. "You're serious, doc? Does that mean I can start sparing after school?"

Recovery Girl gave me a dry look, one eyebrow cocked. We'd been having these nearly daily checkups after school for the last two weeks, followed by one exhausting recovery session after another. There had been a strict no-combat no-exercise rule during that time, and I was getting jittery sitting on the sidelines. I'd voiced this to her at every opportunity. "Did you learn you lesson from having your ribs turned into sand?" She said.

"Probably not." I said, mirroring her expression.

We sat for a moment, stares contesting each other, before a slight grin cracked her face. "Brat." She said whacking me over the head with her cane. "Yes, you can spar, as long as you keep it light."

I rubbed the back of my head. "You know, you teachers are doing that way more often than I'm comfortable with."

Recovery Girl began packing her things, putting away papers and hanging her medical equipment. "You deserve it. Now, if you want your ability to take part in class reinstated, run this up to Aizawa. He should be in the teacher's lounge if he hasn't left yet." She handed me a small slip of pink paper.

"Yes ma'am!" I gave a mock salute and stepped out the door to take the last word.

* * *

When I reached the teacher's lounge, the door was open and the room was nearly silent. I stuck my head in to check who was there, when I saw a large man crouched over a keyboard, a stack of papers next to him.

"All Might?" I said, trying not to startle him. Since the USJ, All Might hadn't so much as spoken to me during class. I had tried multiple times in the days following to thank him for saving the class, but he always dashed off before I could.

The Symbol of Peace sat up quickly in his seat, surprised. "Oh, young Watanabi!" All Might shifted in his chair, pushing back slightly from the door. He looked back down at his computer. "What can I do for you?"

"I'm looking for Mr. Aizawa, do you know where he's at?" I said, glancing around the room. The other computers were dimmed or off, and most of the work stations had been cleaned.

"I'm afraid he's already gone home. You'll have to see him tomorrow." All Might said, eyes not meeting mine and his tone not the friendliest. I cocked my head. What the hell? All Might had never been this dismissive to anybody that I'd seen.

"It's fine, I just have something to leave on his desk." I walked forward to Mr, Aizawa's work space, keeping my eyes on All Might the whole time. As I approached, his massive shoulders scrunched together, and his eyes stared at his screen without reading it. I sighed openly, feeling All Might's eyes flick upwards in confusion. "All right, I get it."

All Might, for the first time since I had entered the room, turned to fully face me. "What was that?" He said, donning his trademark heroic grin. It almost made me second guess myself, but not quite. His teeth were too clenched, his eyes weren't crinkling the right way. All Might was nervous.

I took a deep breath, and closed my eyes for a moment. There was still time to take back what I'd said. I could pretend that I meant something else, or just drop it. "I think I make you uncomfortable, All Might. I think it's because of what my quirk could mean for you."

The tension was thick enough to swim through. All Might's smile went slack, and his brow furrowed. His gaze sharpened, and he gave me a hard look. "What do you mean by that, young Watanabi?"

Oh crap, this was a really bad idea. Screw it, when in the hole, keep on digging. "I'm not sure if it's the thought that I could take your quirk, or that my knowledge of quirk theft might clue me in to the fact that you somehow gave away at least a portion of your quirk, but I think that's why you've been avoiding me." I said, trying to get as much out as I could in a single breath. As I talked, I watched All Might's tan skin blanch. For being the world's number one hero, the Symbol of Peace didn't have much of a poker face.

I opened my mouth to say more, but All Might spoke in a curt voice. "Enough." He let out a long breath, leaning his face into his hands. He contemplated into his palms for a moment, before turning his eyes back to me. For all the studying that I had done under All Might, I now saw something that hadn't been there before. All Might was exhausted. His blue eyes were dim and cloudy, cushioned in a tired haze.

All Might clasped his hands together and spoke. "I apologize for making you feel this way, young Watanabi. I never wanted to make any of my students feel as though I did not like them. You are right, though." He said, giving a smile that seemed more disappointed in himself than anyone else. "I have been avoiding you, though not on purpose. You see, your quirk reminds me of one that belonged to someone who I very much despised before he died."

I fell back, feeling myself slide into Mr. Aizawa's chair. I guess that it made sense that my quirk wasn't unique, but it still was shocking to hear those words come from All Might's mouth. This person, who had a quirk like mine, was someone that All Might hated? How bad of a villain did you have to be for the number one hero to hate you? And why hadn't I heard of someone so bad and with such a unique quirk? I looked up at the Symbol of Peace. "Who was this person?"

All Might closed his eyes and grimaced. "That is a story for another time, and not one I want to tell lightly. For now, however, I want to know what you think you know about my quirk."

I swallowed. No going back now. "I'm pretty sure that Midoriya somehow got a quirk that's nearly identical to yours, and recently too. I know that you've shown a lot of favoritism towards him, and his body has been displaying all the signs that it's not used to his new quirk. I don't actually know how it works, but I'm assuming it's some kind of enhancement that you have to consciously activate, rather than just a strength booster."

"Again, you are not wrong." All Might said. His voice was grave, though he seemed impressed. "My quirk is something that I keep a secret from society, because it would make myself and those near me a target for trouble. I don't reveal it lightly, even though circumstances sometimes force me to speak about it. A lot like your quirk, actually." All Might flashed me a soft grin. "My quirk, One for All, is one that stockpiles energy and is the only quirk in existence that can be passed from user to user."

Oh.

Things began to line up in my brain, things that hadn't made sense before. Midoriya injured himself because his quirk wasn't physically enhancing his body, it was overcharging it with energy. The sensation that I had felt during Mr. Aizawa's physical examination must have been the build up of energy in Midoriya, the pull of a massive force behind his quirk. If that power was something that could be given to anyone….

I looked up at the blonde adonis in front of me, my teacher. "Yeah, that could end badly." I said.

All Might's head reared back, and his jaw opened to release the thundering boom of his trademark laughter. "HA HA HA!" All Might indulged himself for a moment before wiping his eyes. "Yes, young Watanabi, there is a reason that I keep One for All away from the eyes of the public. Though I do owe you a large debt, after your intervention in the USJ."

I cocked my head again, thinking on that. The only thing that I'd accomplished in the USJ was taking away Nomu's- "Oh!" I exclaimed, realization hitting me like a Detroit Smash. "You said your quirk was passed from person to person, not copied! That means that you've already lost a significant piece of your power! So when I took away Nomu's super strength…" I paused, realizing how badly the USJ could have ended for my teacher.

"You saved me from taking quite a bit of damage." All Might said solemnly. "It is because the Nomu no longer had his greatest weapon that I can still hold this form for more than an hour."

What? "This form?"

All Might looked up and smiled, before a cloud of smoke enveloped the room without warning. The was a snap noise, and my goliath of a teacher had disappeared. In his place was an emaciated skeleton with drooping blond hair and oversized clothing.

"What the shit?!" I exclaimed jumping out of my chair and into a defensive stance. After a beat, however, my muscles relaxed. "What happened to you, All Might?"

The skeleton regarded me with an amused frown. "Several years ago, I fought someone that required my all, and left with several life threatening injuries. I'm sure you can relate." All Might lifted the hem of his shirt, revealing the purpled flower of scars underneath. I grimaced at the sight; It reminded me of the scars on my ribs from Recovery Girl's surgeries. "After that, my quirk became harder and harder to use. Before I passed on my One for All, I could maintain my muscle form for about three hours a day. Now, I struggle for two and change. The reason I owe you, is because that number would definitely be lower if I'd had to fight Nomu at full strength."

I felt my eyes go hot, and a cool trickle down the side of my cheek. This was happening a lot lately, but it was just so sad to see the world's greatest hero reduced this state. For the first time in a long time, I got on my knees and fully bowed, my head touching the floor. "Thank you, All Might, for saving all of us at the USJ, and for continuing to teach despite your condition. You don't owe me anything."

A large hand, thin and filled with slight tremors, clasped my shoulder. All Might kneeled next to me, sunken eyes betraying his own sorrow. "Young man, I owe you and all your fellow students everything. That is why I teach, and that is why I strive to make you the best heroes. You all are the future, and we adults all work to make you the best you can be."

All Might pulled me to my feet, and I wiped my eyes. I placed the crumpled pink slip onto Mr. Aizawa's desk and gathered my discarded bag. "It's getting late, I should get home." I said, regaining my composure.

"Yes, I would as well, but I still have papers to grade." All Might nodded to me. "Have a good night, young Watanabi."

I smiled. "You too, All Might."

* * *

I stretched, feeling the chilled morning air on my limbs. It was the next day, a Saturday, and I found myself at a park near the school. Last night, I had texted Momo, Kirishima, and Mina the good news about my ability to take part in spars, and we'd scheduled to meet up here. I hadn't mentioned anything about my conversation with All Might, mostly because I wasn't sure how to deal with the information I'd been given.

I was halfway through my second warm-up lap when a black car pulled up to the park-side curb. I smiled as I saw a tall, dark haired girl step out of the back seat. "Hey, Momo!" I waved as she walked up the nearly empty path.

"Hello, Kyou!" Momo's eyes gleamed as she fell into line to join me on the jog. "Have Kirishima and Mina arrived yet?"

"Not yet, but I expect they'll be showing up any time now." I checked my watch, and my smile widened. "Not everyone shows up ten minutes early like you, Momo."

The red that had already crept into her cheeks from the run intensified. She murmured something that I couldn't hear, and then sped up to be a few steps ahead of my. I laughed as she all but ran away. We finished another two laps before our friends arrived on foot, clad in light exercise gear light us.

"Hey, man!" Kirishima called as we went up to meet each other. His muscle shirt was nearly the exact same shade as his hair, and it overwhelmed the eyes just to look at. "Glad you can finally start taking the Sports Festival seriously!"

"I've been taking it seriously!" I said, giving him a light slug. "It's just now I can actually start training."

"Well, I am so glad the you can, like, finally join us Kyou!" Mina said, jumping into a full bear hug. "Now I can get a break from Shima, cause all he wants to do is spar!"

My redheaded friend rubbed the back of his head abashedly. "Well, I wanna win. It's not like I can get there without training my butt off."

"And that is an admirable goal." Momo said, slipping her bag from over her shoulder. "We should all be doing our best! As such, I believe that we should pair up and start practicing immediately."

"All right, class rep, we get it!" I laughed. "So then one-on-one to start?"

Kirishima nodded. "Yeah, normally Mina and me go till one of us gives up."

"Good, then do we want to have two people spar and the other two take notes for improvement?"

"That sounds like a grand idea!" Momo piped up, pulling a pencil and paper from her bag.

Mina held up her phone. "I'll, like, record it so we can watch it back! Then if something funny happens we'll have a recording of it!"

We moved our group to the top of one of the few hills in the park, laying out a few blankets for the non-sparers to sit on. The first match was going to be a match-up between myself and Kirishima. I was participating because I had gone the longest without fighting, and Kirishima was my opponent because he seemed the most excited to fight me. Because we were off campus, no quirks were allowed. It was just strength against strength, no powers or augmentations allowed.

I stood maybe five yards away from Kirishima, crouched in a low stance. He was standing side-face, fist drawn up and prepared to go on the offensive. Kirishima's teeth were pulled back in a feral grin, his sharp teeth glinting in the light. I returned his smile, pumping my fist in excitement.

Mina stood to my right, about halfway between the two of us. She held up a workout rag, fashioned into a makeshift flag. "One, two, three, Fight!" She threw the flag into the air and stepped back.

Instead of rushing me like I'd expected, Kirishima held his ground, waiting for me to come to him. I obliged, taking two long steps forward and ducking lower, trying to get under his guard. He shifted his weight and stepped forward, bringing down a fist. I twisted, thrusting upwards. HIs fist met my shoulders and he bounced back from the impact.

As he stumbled, I twisted my leg behind his ankle, tripping him. As he fell, he threw his weight backwards, rolling into a standing position. He followed it with a quick jab, then another. I jumped back. He overextended, and I rushed forward. I went to swing upwards, but his palm swept upwards and struck under my wrist. I smirked as he took the bait, and brought my other fist under his arm, delivering a swift punch to his side.

Kirishima gasped as the air was driven from his lungs, but stepped backwards quickly. He kept a vigilant stare as he caught his breath. "That was dirty!" He called, smile still proudly displayed. "I like it! Keep 'em comin'!

I flashed a shit-eating grin and nodded. Without breaking stance, I pushed forward. My hands flew forward, Jab. Jab. Uppercut. Kirishima turned, taking both of my jabs to the side instead of the chest, and moved his head a fraction of an inch to avoid the uppercut. He brought himself lower, trying to emulate what I had done before and get under my guard. I smirked again. I cupped both my hands and drove them down, spiking into his back.

Kirishima gave a deep grunt and buckled, rolling to the ground. He rolled forward into me, breaking my stance and forcing me to move. "Shit!" I called out as I stumbled. Kirishima took that time to push himself into a standing position. He brought his fist up, but a batted it away with an open palm.

We backed away from each other, circling. He lunged forward, a jab followed by a left hook. I dropped, swinging my feet out. He was prepared this time and adjusted stance. His arm lashed out, elbow grasping my midriff. With a push, he brought us both to the ground. We rolled, moving with the slope of the hill. Kirishima brought his other arm over, hooking it underneath my left armpit. I jabbed my elbow back and into his side, causing him to gasp in pain. His right arm came loose, but he held my left side like a steel beam. I flipped around, hooking my arm under his leg, and pulled.

Kirishima cried out as he was suddenly stretched into a nice C-shape. He struggled, striking my side with his free hand. I felt a cold pain settle on my ribs, but I ignored it. I continue to pull, and Kirishima's superiors strength was useless with the position that I had. After a few moments, I felt his arm tap on my leg. I released, and we fell apart. I gasped as I stood, the pain in my side taking full effect. After a moment, I could hear the girls get to us, aspirin already held next to full water bottles.

"Are you okay?" Momo murmured worriedly as laid a hand on my shoulder. She dabbed at a small cut on my face with a rag.

"I'm good." I gave a smile, and grimaced as I tasted blood on my teeth. Somewhere in the grapple I must have bumped my face. I turned back to Kirishima, who was being similarly cared for by Mina. "That was a solid fight, dude."

He grimaced into a smile. "Yeah, even if one of us was playing a little below the belt! I'll say though, it doesn't feel like you've been bedridden for two weeks!"

"Well, I might have had a little help getting back up to strength after last night." I said, intentional looking away to draw intrigue.

Momo gave me an odd look, and then her face went slack with surprise. "You didn't!" She said.

"Once I knew I could fight, I figured it would be the right time." I said, shrugging my shoulders.

"Wait, like, what did he do?" Mina asked, pulling out some ice packs from an insulated bag.

"He absorbed one of his quirks. The one he got at the USJ." Kirishima said, face unreadable from underneath the wet towel that Mina had draped over him. "That's why you're back up to strength, right?"

"Kyou!" Momo said, brow furrowed. "Didn't you tell me that it might be dangerous to take on that quirk?" Her hands tightened on my shoulders, and I felt my heart sink a little. Shit, I hadn't meant to piss off Momo.

"It wasn't that bad! I just figured it would be the best way to get trained up!" I said, trying to claim innocence. "One of the reasons that I integrated before I was recovered, was because then I could get used to moving with my enhanced strength. Since it's a strength enhancer, and it doesn't give a static boost to muscle power, it proportionally gets stronger as I do.I'm only as strong now as I was before the incident. I swear, it's all legit!"

"But, like, that's gonna change once you start getting back into it, right?" Mina piped up. "Cause that guy you got the quirk from was, like, SUPER strong!"

"Well, yeah, but that's gonna take time. For now, there's not gonna be too much of a difference."

I felt Momo's grip release a little, and her voice softened. "Well, at least you didn't hurt yourself more…." She said, muttering so that only I could hear. She rested her chin on my head and draped her arms over my shoulders. She was warm, and I could smell her flowery perfume.

We all sat and rested for a few moments, getting back our respective breaths and prepping for the next bout. That day, each of us fought three times. We started thinking more in our fights, getting better. The Sports Festival was coming up, and we were each trying to win it.

* * *

 **And there's this week's chapter of Just Another Hero! I hope you all enjoyed it! We had a confrontation with All Might, and the a peek at the pre-Sports Festival training that's going on! Next time, we'll be starting the festival, so hold onto your pants!**

 **Josuke21 - I agree! Aizawa is by far one of my favorite characters and I love every scene he's in. Thanks so much for your support, because the spring season is the busiest part of my year. I'm probably not going to be able to do a bonus chapter for another few weeks, because I work the next two weekends, which is when I do the majority of my writing. I appreciate your consistent reviews, so thanks a lot.**

 **Seeker of Immortality - Lol, maybe WAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYY down the line, Kyou will be able to get the nerve up for that kind of thing, because I agree that it would probably be for the best. Then you have to think though, how could any organized government deal with having someone that powerful around? It's the Superman dilemma, but with even more BS powers. Anyway, thanks for the review, I appreciate it!**

 **The next guaranteed chapter with be on April 21st! Make sure to follow, favorite, and review so you can get updates as the chapters come out! This is Rel, signing out.**


	17. Chapter 17

Low booms echoed across the campus as colourful plumes of smoke exploded into existence over the of people, the public and students alike, shuffled through aisles of brightly decorated stands and mouth watering food carts. The sounds of laughter and excitement heralded the confirmation of one single, inescapable fact.

The day of the U.A. Sports Festival was finally upon us.

Kirishima and I walked through the halls of the school, burning some of our nerves before the actual tournament. Nervous faces plastered the faces of the other students, and anxious whispers were heard between the fireworks. The whole atmosphere reminded me of the morning of the Entrance Exam and the sense of expectation that accompanied it. We'd had well over a month at U.A. to learn and train, and today was going to be our chance to show off our skills to the whole world.

No pressure, right?

"Hey, Kyou…." A voice from over my shoulder pulled my attention back to reality. Midoriya stood a few feet away, green hair falling low over his eyes. "Do you have a minute?"

I looked at Kirishima, who shrugged non-committedly. "You go on ahead." I turned back to Midoriya. "What's up?" I said as I approached him.

"So, All Might told me that you guys had a talk?" Now that I was closer, I could see his eyes flickering back and forth as he stared down at his shoes. So, that's what this was about. Got it. All Might took his time telling his protege about our little conversation..

"Yeah, what about it?"

"W-well…" Midoriya's eyes looked up in mild surprise. "I just figured, with you knowing, and since you talked to All Might, I just thought that-"

"Dude, I'm not gonna bite you." I said, giving him a flat look. "I'm not gonna lie, I had my suspicions about what was going from moment one, but that doesn't mean that I'm gonna use that information in any way. Loosen up a bit, you're putting me on edge."

"Oh." Midoriya visibly relaxed; his shoulders dropped and his back straightened. "It's just that since no one else knows, I thought that maybe it might be nice to talk to someone about it."

What was it with my classmates and making me feel like the bad guy in conversation? The guy just wanted to talk to somebody about his secret powers. Of all people, I should be the one to understand that. "You know, that might not be the worst idea." I tried to back my words with a reassuring smile. I hope I didn't just look constipated. "Today might not be the best day for that though, bud." I gestured to the decorations that littered the halls.

Midoriya glanced around, giving a sheepish grin as he caught my meaning. "I guess that make sense…" He said, straightening his shoulders. The gusto and genuineness returned to his posture as though it had never left. "Anyway, I was also coming to wish you luck in the tournament!"

"Really?" I said, eyebrow cocked. "I'm all for good sportsmanship, but I would have that that you'd be gunning for first place yourself?"

"Oh, I am! I just thought that we should all do our best and have a good time, so I hope everyone does as well as they can!" Midoriya beamed as he struck a pose.

A conversation that I'd had weeks ago echoed in my ears. As Midoriya's infectious attitude pulled a smile to my lips, I could hear Uraraka's glowing review of the green haired guy in front of me. I guess he was actually a really nice guy. Good to know.

I leveled my hand in front of me. "Thanks, bud. I hope you do well too." I said.

Midoriya's face glowed as he shook my hand. "I know All Might wants me to win, but I get so nervous with so many powerful people in our class…" He said, trailing off slightly.

"And you should be!" I gave my best 'Kirishima Pose'. "You might be All Might's favorite, but I'm no slouch. You've also got the explosive asshole and Todoroki to worry about, not to mention Iida or Kirishima, both of whom have been training rigorously since they were kids. And that's just a couple people in our class! There's pretty much everybody else, plus all of the other classes in our year."

As I spoke, I watched Midoriya's face slowly lose colour. He slouched, and his hair drooped. "I'm even less confident now…" He said, eyes losing focus as his mind wandered into his own little world. "And I still can't really control my quirk. Maybe with so many people, I should try and lay low, so no one will think I'm a threat. I could leave the other's to fight each other and only take care of the strongest ones. But that would mean I wouldn't stand out like All Might wanted me to, and I might have to fight Kacchan-"

"Hey!" I snapped my fingers in front of his face.

"Wha-" Midoriya's eyes cleared and his face reddened. He scratched his head abashedly. "Sorry about that…"

"It's fine, dude." I said. "No need to be so nervous! Focus up, or Bakugou might just come out of nowhere and take you out!" We both glanced around, checking if speaking the demon's name would summon him.

The air was quite for a moment, and no one approached. Apparently not.

Midoriya sighed with relief. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He said.

"Damn right, I am!" I tossed my arm over his shoulder and started guiding him to the locker rooms. "Now come on, it's time to go get ready!"

Midoriya didn't protest, instead happily jaunting along next to me. I could kind of understand the close relationship Uraraka and Iida already had with this guy, and kind of why All Might chose him. I'd spoken less and a full conversation with him, and he was already growing on me.

It might have taken a while, but starting to clear the air with Midoriya felt nice.

* * *

Midoriya, Kirishima, and I all walked into a room of the main hallway to wait with the rest of our class to enter the stadium. The waiting room was large, with fold-able chairs and collapsible tables scattered across it. Most of the rest of our class had already gathered, dressed in the blue and red exercise uniforms that we wore for gym. I spotted a tall ponytail facing away from me, sitting across from my horned and pink friend. I pulled up a chair, sliding in right next to Momo.

"Hey, class rep! How are things going?" I said loudly, spooking most of my classmates. Mina smiled and waved, as she'd seen me enter.

Momo jumped slightly before turning to look at me. Her mouth was pressed in a hard line, barely attempting to make a passable smile. "Hello, Kyou." She said, exhaling. "Things are going well thus far, with no incidents to speak of." Her terse expression melted slightly.

"Well, good. You shouldn't have to whup anybody's butt yet. That comes later." I turned to Mina, who had stood to hug Kirishima. "How about you, short-stack? You nervous?"

"Well, like, only a little bit." Mina said, taking her seat again. "I'm mostly just jazzed to get to fight!" She thrust her arm into the air.

"Hey, that's my line!" Kirishima said with mock offense. They started bantering between themselves, leaving Momo and I functionally alone at the table.

I leaned over, lowering my voice. "Hey…" I said. "How are **you** doing? I'm not asking my class rep, I'm asking you."

Momo went to say something, but hesitated. She bit her lip. "I'm nervous." She said in the same low tone. Momo clenched her fists slightly and leaned her shoulder into mine. "I'm worried that the time I put in with you all was wasted, and that it won't be enough." Her eyes flicked around the room, stopping on a bushel of spiked blonde hair, and then on contrasting white and red locks.

I pushed back, giving a reassuring pressure. "You'll do great, Momo." Glancing around to make sure no one was watching, I pulled her hand into mine. "Do you want something to distract you?" I murmured.

Her cheeks reddened, and she nodded. I grinned. This was such a bad idea, but my nervousness about the festival was making what I was about to ask easier. "After the festival, maybe sometime this weekend, do you want to go on a d-"

"Midoriya." A cold and straight tone quieted all other conversation in the room. Todoroki stood over my new green-haired friend, eyes unblinking and unmoving. "I have something I want to say before the festival begins."

Mother.

Fucker.

This couldn't have waited literally another thirty seconds? This guy, who had spoken less than a sentence to anyone, ever, now needed to interrupt what was going to be an awesome moment. Fuck this guy, and the timing he rode in on.

Regardless of my internal fuming, Todoroki continued to speak. "From an objective standpoint, I think it's fairly clear that I'm stronger than you."

Midoriya's eyes met mine for half a second, obviously thinking of the conversation we'd had not twenty minutes before. "Y-yeah?"

"However, you've got All Might in your corner helping you out." He droned, staring intently at Midoriya. "I won't pry about what's going on between the two of you, but know that I will beat you."

There was a beat as Todoroki's declaration sounded through the class, and the others began to speak up. Iida and Kirishima both began to voice their opinions. My chair let out a grinding noise as I dropped Momo's hand and stood, cutting off everyone else's conversation. All eyes were on me, even the mismatched set attached to the arrogant asshole in front of me.

I walked forward, steps echoing in the confined space. "First off, that's some utter bullshit."

If the room wasn't silent before, it was quieter than the grave now. Todoroki's eyes widened slightly, the first emotion that I'd seen out of him. Midoriya looked at me, face panicked, and began to shake his head. "Kyou-"

"Gimme a second, Midoriya." I said sternly. I took my final steps all the way up to Todoroki, getting into his personal space. Sure, I was mad about his interruption, but this was about more than that. "You need to understand something, bud. Something that I don't think is quite in your temperature confused head."

Todoroki cocked his head slightly. "Oh?"

"There's no guarantees for anything in the Festival, especially not what standing you're in." I snarled. "By saying that you're gonna 'beat Midoriya', you're belittling the rest of us here. There's no guarantee that me or Bakugou," I pointed at the blonde, who leaned forward with malice. "Or anybody else in this room isn't gonna kick your ass. Which, by the way, I think I'm gonna do."

There was a mix of reactions to my statement. I heard several murmurs of agreement, mostly Kirishima and Bakugou, along with a few voices of dissent, most notable being Mineta and Kaminari. The only opinion that I cared about, though, was the one in front of me.

Todoroki narrowed his eyes, and his lip curled. "I stand by what I said. I will win this." Todoroki glared at the rest of the class as he turned on his heel. "Don't forget, this isn't a team effort. On your own, no one here stands a chance against me." He exited the room, pushing past the rest of the class.

The class collectively released a breath as he left. I turned as I felt Midoriya's hand on my shoulder. "What's up?" I said, exhaling. God, that guy was being a bigger asshole than Bakugou.

"You shouldn't have done that, Kyou!" Midoriya said, voice tight. "He's probably stronger than just about everybody here!"

I straightened my back, looking the short green haired guy in the eye. "And?"

Midoriya looked taken aback, but didn't respond for a long moment. "I guess that you're right. He was being kind of a jerk…"

"Damn straight." I turned to Bakugou, who was draped over a folding chair in the corner. "Hey, Bakugou."

Crimson eyes met mine, though not with the anger that normally accompanied them. "What the hell do you want, Salad fuck?" He said, elegant as always.

"Do me a favor and don't turn me into a liar." I said, flashing him a grin. God, that was a first. "Kick his ass if you match up against him."

His wide teeth shown as he returned my grin with a murderous smile. "I was already going to send you both to hell, so I can live with that."

I turned to speak to Midoriya again, but the said of someone clearing their throat turned my head. Momo had stood and was looking at a timer on her phone. "Everyone, it is time for us to enter the stadium. Please gather your things and come with me."

I shot Midoriya an apologetic smile and trotted up to Momo. "How was my little declaration of war?"

She sighed, rolling her eyes slightly. "I believe it was ill-timed and poorly thought out." Momo's lips curled into a little smile. "Though it was deserved. And I am no longer worried about facing Todoroki."

"'Ill-timed and poorly thought out'?" I spread my hands in front of me, imagining the words in large glowing letters. "Yeah, that could be my autobiography."

Momo giggled. We walked in peaceful silence to the tunnel, followed by most of Class 1-A. Todoroki reappeared on our walk, trailing at the back of the class. Interestingly enough, I spotted Kirishima speaking to Bakugou about something. Even more interesting, Bakugou wasn't blowing him off.

It was a short walk to the tunnel, and we all gathered around the large gate to the stadium. The low thrumming of music could be heard, and a dim light shown at the end of the tunnel. Momo, as the class rep, stepped back and allowed each of the rest of the students to go in front of her. I waited until everyone else was gone, and grabbed her arm as she passed by me.

Momo turned, eyes voicing some concern. "Kyou, wha-"

"Hey, you know how I do things that are ill-timed and poorly thought out?" I said, a warm chill crept through my chest. I swallowed. "Well, I figure that I'm gonna keep to that. Do you want to go out with me?"

Momo's face went through several stages as my meaning hit her. First, her eyes went wide and her skin paled. A red tinge shot up to replace the colour in her face, and her mouth gaped like a fish. If I wasn't so damn nervous, I would have laughed. Finally, after what felt like the longest second in history, she slowly nodded.

"Oh." I let out a breath. "Cool." I wasn't expecting that to be so easy. I numbly let go of her arm, and went to walk forward.

As I stepped past her, a cool hand grasped my wrist. Turn about was far play, I guess. I looked back, and Momo had regained the smallest nugget of composure. Her eyes searched my face, though I couldn't tell you what for. After a moment her hand fell lower, into mine. She squeezed it tight and gave me a stern look. "I have been trying to ask you that for weeks!" She exclaimed. I jumped as the fire in her voice arrived from nowhere. "Why, of all possible places and times-" She sighed, giving up on her rant.

Somewhere in my numbed chest, I could feel a slight bit of offense bubble up. "I mean, I did literally call out that this was bad timing. And, I was trying to say it earlier, but Todoroki interrupted and-"

I shut up as a pair of soft lips pressed against my own, warm and sweet. Floral perfume filled my senses as Momo kissed me. Holy shit, Momo was kissing me! I pressed in further, just doing what felt right. After a moment, she pulled away, and her chocolate eyes burned into mine. She smiled, and I smiled back.

Needless to say, it took us a moment to catch up to everyone else.

* * *

The sunlight was blinding as we exited the tunnel, the roar of the crowd more than enough to deafen us. Our class stood a little ways away from the tunnel, gathered with the rest of the classes near a tall stage where Ms. Midnight was standing. Over the speakers, I could hear Present Mic announcing the last of the classes, the business course students.

Kirishima was standing at the back of the class, and gave me a concerned look as we approached. "I was waiting for you, man. What took you guys so long?" He said, furrowing one red eyebrow.

I started to speak, but Momo beat me to the punch. "I was simply verifying that Kyou was ready to address the crowd for the student pledge." She said, lying with little to no effort.

Kirishima's eyes widened as he turned to look at me. "You're giving the student pledge?"

I winced. Ah, shit. I almost forgot about that. "Yeah, cause I scored the highest on the Entrance Exam." I said, sighing. "I have gone my whole life without giving a speech, so I am not excited."

"You're gonna do awesome, man!" Kirishima said, trying to impart me with his own gusto. "Show 'em what we're made out of!"

As if on cue, Ms. Midnight's voice rang over the loudspeakers. " **Now for the introductory speech!** " She waved whip in front of her, everything in her… ...inappropriate apparel bouncing as she did so. " **Silence, everyone! For this year's student pledge, we have Kyousuke Watanabi!** "

Immediately, my classmate's eyes shifted to me. Whispers began to flow, and gasps of shock were heard. I could hear Mineta over the other voices. "No way! That guy stole that too?" I clenched my teeth and ignored that one.

I felt a hand brush my arm, and looked over at Momo's reassuring smile. "Go. You'll do great!" Her bubbly voice set me at ease.

I stepped forward, the crowd parting before me. As I walked, another comment gave me pause. A bland looking girl whispered to a guy near her. "Of course a hero student gets the student pledge! I swear, the rest of us are just here to make them look good."

I kept walking as though I hadn't heard her, but I mentally made some changes to the short pledge I'd had prepared. I walked up the stage steps and to the microphone stand next to Ms. Midnight. I looked to the R-rated Hero, and she gave me a nod.

I breathed in, and I breathed out. I had never been more aware of anything than the thousands of eyes on me at this moment. The stadium had gone near silent as all of the viewers waited to hear me speak. I looked down at the mic. Fuck, this was hard.

I swallowed. " **I pledge that this U.A. Sports Festival will be a spectacle to remember, and that every student here will be trying their best to win.** " My voice echoed in the silence, and I looked back at my fellow students. " **Regardless of their class, I pledge that each person standing behind me will give this tournament their all, and that each of them is a credible contender to win.** " The bland girl's face went white, and I saw several looks of shock spread throughout the non-hero courses. Even the members of Class 1-B, who I had not yet had the chance to properly meet, gave looks of surprise. I had said something that none of them were expecting, and that threw a lot of them off.

I jumped as a loud noise echoed from off to my right. At the edge of the crowd stood one of the General Education students, a shock of purple hair amongst his peers. He started clapping slowly, a dry grin cracking his face. Whoever he was, he must have had some level of pull, because those immediately around him began to join in. The clapping spread across the students, and then into the crowd of spectators. Soon, the entire stadium had erupted into cheers. I felt my face heat up as left the stage, taking my place back with Momo and Kirishima.

"That was great, man!" Kirishima clapped me on the back, red eyes shining. "Way to enforce what you were saying earlier!"

There was a beat of confusion before I understood what he was saying. Todoroki. My speech here was backing up the declaration that I made against the living thermostat. "Thanks, dude." I said simply. I turned to Momo, eyebrow up.

"You did well." She gave me her trademark small smile, and my heart did a little jump.

" **A good speech from one of our prize students!** " Ms. Midnight declared, making all of us jump as her voice blared. " **Without further adieu, it's time for us to get started! This is where you start feeling the pain, the first fateful game of the festival! What could it be?** " The teacher gestured up to the giant screen behind her, where a graphic was spinning through several possible games, lottery style.

I tensed. Whatever the first game was, it was going to set the pace for the entire festival. The graphic jerked, landing on option. " **Ta-da! AN Obstacle Race!** " Ms. Midnight declared. " **All classes will participate in a treacherous contest! The track is four kilometers around the outside of the stadium. I don't want to retrain anyone, at least not in this game…** " There was a myriad of shudders across the crowd as Mr. Midnight licked her lips, most of them for reasons less pure than others. " **As long as you don't leave the course, you can do whatever your heart desires!** "

Anything? I felt my spirits rise. As one, Bakugou turned and looked at each other, making eyes contact through rows of students. We both turned to look at Todoroki, standing near the front of the crowd with his back to us. It was times like this that I felt that if Bakugou wasn't such an asshole, we would make a really good team. We had the same thought in that moment, concentrating on the student who had decided we didn't warrant declarations of war.

This free for all race was gonna be fun.

* * *

 **Oof, broke things off right before the race! I'm such a dick! Well, at least this week I gave you guys a scene between Kyou and Yaoyorozu that melted through my frozen heart. Now we're back in the swing of canon, and boy am I having fun with that! The festival events and brackets have been gone over so many times, and I'm excited to let you guys see some of the fights that I have planned out!**

 **Now, I had a dm last week that was asking about Shinso and class 1-B and why they didn't get their 'declaration of war' scene. That's because a major catalyst for that was Bakugou's unbearable ego and apathy towards them in his quest to defeat Deku. Since Bakugou doesn't have the drive to defeat Deku, because he hasn't lost to him and in fact still sees him as a worthless nothing, he has been far more playful and hasn't alienated the school population yet. So I decided that suddenly characters coming out of nowhere and declaring war on 1-A unprovoked would be a little weird. Anyway, I hope that explained it well enough.**

 **Seeker of Immortality - Yes, his Strength quirk does, technically, increase his durability. It simply ups his capacity to increase strength and durability on its own, acting as more of a scaling power-up that a force of strength like One for All. Thanks for having me verify that, and I appreciate your review!**

 **FireFox614 - Did I deliver on the Kyou/Yaoyorozu ship? It made me all warm inside, but I'm also an emotional conflux that cries at every movie. Please, give as many notes as you'd like, because I've never written a romance (or anything for that matter) before.**

 **Quos - I apologize for the misspellings, as I really do try to double check these things before I send them out. The problem with having a beta is that I often don't have the chapters written far enough ahead for them to be available on time. I will endeavour to fix them, and I appreciate your review.**

 **Thank you for everyone who has followed, favorited, and reviewed! It means so much to me, and keeps me writing. For those of you who have, for shame. How dare? I mean, you've obviously invested enough time to read seventeen chapters! Lol, I'm kidding (kind of). Please do follow and favorite, though. And please, tell me where I can improve! Anyway, this is Rel, signing out!**

 **The next guaranteed chapter will be out on May 5th!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hey, guys! As promised, I have delivered the newest chapter of Just Another Hero, and it's actually on time! (If you don't count the update I missed, anyway.) Thank you for everyone who sent their support after my last update, because it really helped me get this chapter done. Now please, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

The starting line stood at a tall red gate, the looming opening to the outside of the stadium. Given our own prerogative to choose our starting position, almost every member of the hero course had grouped near the front of the pack, ready to take our place at the top. I stood in lock step with Kirishima on my right and Momo on my left. Ahead of us were only a few rows of students, a few tensed and familiar face among them. Todoroki's white-red hair stooped low and postured at the very front, Bakugou's spiked hair only a step behind him. Off to the left, but still ahead of me, Iida and Midoriya were crouched in running position, ready to take charge.

 _ **Beeem!**_

The dull tone of the countdown sounded, one of the three green lights above the starting line dimmed. Even with the weight in my chest and the blood roaring in my ears, I managed to grin. Without turning, I grasped Momo's hand and felt it clench in my own. I was facing the most formidable members of our class for properly for the first time. This is what we had been training for.

 _ **Beeem!**_

The second light flickered away, and the crowd fell silent. Anticipation rose as the count down lowered. The smell of sweat already filled the air as nervousness flooded the arena. Behind me I could feel the stares of the rest of U.A. staring at us, at the hero course, ready to see how we led the charge.

 _ **Beeem! BROMMMM!**_

" **BEGIN!** " Mrs. Midnight yelled into her microphone, releasing the floodgates. I released Momo's hand, squeezing myself through the masses. While I would love to have held onto my friends, this was a test for each of us to individually overcome.

Students pushed and pulled, bottlenecking into through the gate that led outside. The sun disappeared behind concrete as a mass of limbs wriggled into a space smaller than them. I felt an elbow into my side, and knee into my back. Something heavy, I couldn't even tell the body part, lashed across my shoulders.

Over the squeaks of pain and breathless moans, I could hear the booming and familiar voice of a color commentator. " **-should we be paying attention to in the early stages of the race?** " Present Mic's nasal voice sounded over the crowd.

A loud sighed crackled over the speakers, almost drowned out by a cry of pain some fifty people back. " **The doorway…** " Mr. Aizawa drawled sarcastically.

I let out a sharp intake of breath as another elbow caught me in my still sensitive ribs. No shit, Eraser. Before I could verbally announce my disdain, A cold wind rushed around my ankles, followed by a crystalline tremor that I'd heard only once before.

"Fuck…" My mouth caught up to my brain as the panic set in. " **Jump!** " I yelled, wedging my arms over the mass of people and pushing off the ground, conveniently using a few fellow students as launching pad. There were loud shouts of protest as I hopped on the shoulders of a a nearby student.

The were only a few that heard my warning before Todoroki's ice wave hit. The floor, once dull concrete, was now covered in a glimmering layer of slick ice. There was a collective groan as the majority of competitors found themselves trapped by a frosty dismissal. Ojiro, Satou, and Jirou, as well as most of the non-hero course students, all became victims of the icy attack, and they were just the ones that I could see. As Todoroki's duo-chromatic hairdo split off from the group, I had to admit that he'd timed his assault well. Too bad for him that his attack hadn't worked on everybody.

I pushed off the shoulders I had been standing on, unfurling Amber Flare. Two quick hops over another few students freed me from the crowd, allowing me to sprint full speed forward, and a satisfied roar pulled itself from my lips. I jerked, however, when my outburst was answered by several others following me out of the crowd.

 _ **BOOM! BOOM!**_

Bakugou's quick explosions wretched him through the air, soaring over the competition. Momo vaulted like an angel over even him, using her quirk to extend a pole across the gap. Kirishima shouldered through, using his sheer power to push through the enemies. Mina zipped past me, her acid acting like ice skates on the slick surface. Aoyama soared past the non-hero students, his navel lazer propelling him with so much pizzaz. Even Mineta had avoided the attack, gaining ground by bouncing on his weird purple grape things.

Actually, Mineta was more than making ground on Todoroki. He leapt into the air, arms crossed in an anime-esque battle stance. "You think you're so cool, but I've outsmarted you!" The little pervert screeched. "Ha, how pathetic, Todoroki! Beat this, my special attack! **Grape Ru-** "

 _ **SMACK!**_

Mineta went careening off into the distance, a green-gray piece of metal swatting him out of the sky. Attached to that arm, a heavy mechanical body creaked and clacked. A very familiar body. And then, behind it, multiple familiar bodies.

Damn it.

My jaw clenched at the sight of three- no four full sized zero pointers for the Entrance Exam. The giant mechas towered over the dirt track, casting a wide shadow across the ground. I skidded to a halt at their base before releasing that several two and three pointers had began to encircle us. Even Todoroki, who had a considerable lead, paused at the sight of a robot army.

Scraping feet and fearful sighs came from behind me as the rest of the pack begin to catch up. Kirishima stopped to my left, his quirk in active. He turned to me and mumbled "How the hell are we supposed to take on all those? We can't kill four big ass robots…"

"Not with that attitude." I tilted my head towards Todoroki, who had lowered himself into a crouched position. "Frosty the Snowman is about to take on the Wall-E family. I kinda want to see what he does first, then break through. Remember, this is only the first obstacle."

Kirishima opened his mouth, but was quickly cut off by a familiar crystalline tone. A blast of cold air preceded another wave of ice, this one crawling it's way up the side of the central robot. The zero-pointer extended it's massive fist, but already the damage was done. It stood as a statue, a lawn ornament for giants. Between it's treads, there was a small patch of blue showing a safe path to the other side. Todoroki casually jogged through to the other side, sending a contempt look behind him.

There was a beat before the other students began to surge forward, emboldened by Todoroki's defeat of the zero-pointer. I moved to follow, when a faint call came from the other side of the frozen machine. "I froze them while they were off balance…" The metal structure groaned, the stress of all that weight being too much for the now structurally unsound robot. "...On purpose."

 _ **SCHREEE! BOOOOOOOM!**_

The titanium titan's massive frame tilted forward, impacting with enough force to shake the ground. The blast knocked me backwards, sending me stumbling and away from my friends. Icy mist and dust exploded outwards, obscuring the air around it. Chunks of ice and metal careened in different directions, striking the ground and creating dust explosions of their own.

Students scattered to get back, the debris barely missing most of them. One student had a massive pile of scrap, but quickly burst through it a few moments later, covered in what looked like layers of metal plating.

As the mist cleared, the zero-pointers that Todoroki hadn't destroyed began to close in. No one really had time to worry about them before familiar explosions sounded from the center of the pack.

 _ **BOOM BOOM!**_

Bakugou launched himself at a forty five degree degree angle towards the zero-pointers, He quickly found himself followed by other members of our class in his approach. Sero and Tokoyami took off to the skies, while I could see others like Iida and Shoji sprinting their ways around the large robots.

I cracked a grin at Kirishima. "They're going over, not through. That's not very entertaining." I gestured at the zero-pointers with my whips. "Fastball special?" I said, referencing something we'd joked about in training a few days before.

Kirishima's face morphed from the confidence and excitement of seeing his classmates in action, to one of mild anxiety. He swallowed, before looking back at the robots. He turned back to me. "You're offering?"

I shrugged, feeling a bit impatient as I watched Momo cannon down two of the zero-pointers. "I figured we could try it out. Now hurry up and decide before there's none left!"

"All right!" Kirishima grunted. "Let's prove ourselves to be real men!" He gave a forced arm pump.

Flexing my muscles, I grabbed Kirishima with my Amber Flare and pulled as hard as I could. His hardened skin resisted the heat of my tendrils, and my new strength helped get him off the ground. It wasn't easy, but now it was possible.

Kirishima ran the first few steps, helping me build momentum, but his feet quickly left the ground. I spun one full rotation, then two. On the third, I released my hold and let my friend fly.

 _ **CRUNCH!**_

Kirishima impacted into the side of a zero-pointer's head, his full weight crumpling it's face and shattering it's red eyes. The force of the hit caused the robot to careen backwards. It hit the ground with a similar effect to the ones that Todoroki and Momo had destroyed.

My redheaded friend extracted himself from the robot, dusting himself off and giving a thumbs up. I snickered at the sight. "Idiot." I jogged down the path after him.

* * *

The next task appeared in the form of tall stone pillars, position to have their tops even with the ground. Glancing over the edge, I couldn't see a bottom to the pit that they stood in. Tightropes connected each of the pillars, making a complex spider web of ropes and platforms. Todoroki was on his second rope, using his ice to harden it and rail grind down it. Bakugou, of course, essentially flew over this obstacle in Todorki's wake, ignoring the task all together.

I sized up the task, giving it a moment. Kirishima had run off to climb on his own, and now hung suspended about twenty feet into the pit. Other students were catching up, and several had quirks that allowed them to navigate this task quickly. Tsu was starting her second rope, and IIda was sliding across his first. It wasn't until I saw Sero swinging my his the tape of his elbows did I figure out how to cross quickly, and inconvenience the others behind me.

I took a sprinting leap forward, and grasped the first tightrope with my right hand. I barely extended the flairs of my left, using them to sever the end of the cord. There was a moment before gravity took over that I was suspended in air, before the laws of nature pulled me back to the earth.

 _ **Twang!**_

The rope pulled taut, and my motion only continued in the horizontal direction. In true Tarzan fashion, I opened my mouth and yelled into the rushing winds. "Ahhhhhh! Ahhh ahhh!" A smile split my face as I glanced back to see several students watching me. Too bad those guys didn't think of this first.

I swung around my first pillar, releasing my rope and grabbing a second before severing that one as well. Then, using my third rope, I landed on the other side with a soft plop. I got up, dusted my knees, and looked back. Todoroki and Bakugou were long gone, but almost no one else had finished crossing. Even Tsu was only halfway through her third rope. I grinned and took off down the track.

* * *

A few minutes after leaving the pillars, I could see two large pink signs flanking an otherwise inconspicuous stretch of ground, maybe a few hundred meters in length. As the words surround the pink skulls on the sign came into few, I let out a sigh. "You've gotta be shitting me…"

 **DANGER: MINES**

"The people who set this thing up are assholes…" A thought occurred to me. "Shit, those people are in charge of my education and safety."

I glanced down the minefield, and to the distant figures of Bakugou and Todoroki halfway across it, both of them still fighting for dominance. I twisted my head, cracking my neck, and lowered myself to a runner's stance. "Well, you should never skip leg day, so let's give these new muscles a try..."

My feet left the ground with a dull thud as I pushed off, a spray of fine dirt shot out in a cone behind me. One, two, three steps and I had gone ten meters. My legs left the ground for seconds at a time, finally getting to let loose with the strength that I had been building up. I hadn't had a chance to fully test my new limits, as I had done most of my training off campus for the past few weeks.

I kept my eyes vigilant for land mines, though I mostly aimed my feet where I could see the scuff marks left behind by Todoroki. Maybe ten seconds later, I could see the sweat pooling off my rivals as they battled. A few seconds after that, I could see the whites of their eyes as the turned to see me approaching

"Hey, guys!" I gave a chipper grin as I pushed between the two of them.

"What the fu-" Bakugou screamed. "Get back here, you bastard!"

The sound of multiple small-scale explosions sounded behind me, followed quickly by the crystalline chimes of spreading ice. I could feel the two of the in quick step behind me, throwing the occasional jab at each other while attempting to catch up.

Without Todoroki's footsteps to follow, I was starting to have a lot more difficult of a time keeping my edge. All the speed in the world won't help you maneuver a minefield any more quickly. Even worse, neither Bakugou nor Todoroki had to worry about the mines, since Bakugou could essentially fly over them and the icy-hot asshole was making a path over them.

Within moments, they were on me again, explosions to my left and ice to my right. I dodged a jab to my side from Todoroki, then a kick from Bakugou. Shit, this was getting hard.

 _ **BOOOOOOMMM!**_

The largest explosion yet, even bigger than the robot collapsing earlier, sounded from the front end of the minefield. As one, Todoroki, Bakugou, and I all turned on our heels in a dead stop to look at it. The pink cloud rose easily to fifty or sixty feet in the air, and the glow made even the sun feel dim in comparison.

A small speck, something dark at the very top of the cloud caught my attention. "What the fuck is that?" I said as I squinted my eyes.

"What's what, moron?" Bakugou growled.

"Midoriya." Todoroki gave a low murmur, before pushing off the ground to take advantage of our distraction. Bakugou cursed and followed suit, leaving with a blast.

A quick glance up, and I could see the green curls of Midoriya flapping through the wind behind him. He was rocketing through the sky, clutching a long strip of metal for dear life. A half-second later, I was sprinting towards Bakugou and Todoroki.

With both of them in front of me again, I started to pick up more speed with Todoroki's ice clearing the way. The problem was that no matter how fast I went, they'd be able to catch up once I passed them. Glancing back at the incoming Midoriya meteorite, I tried to think of a plan to get all three of them out of my way.

Oh, shit.

I really am too devious for my own good. This was gonna take timing, but it might just get me first place. "Sorry, Midoriya…" I murmured. I had just made friends with the guy, but this was too good of an opportunity to pass up. I looked back, and Midoriya was maybe five seconds out.

Four. I slowed half a second to distance myself from the two in front.

Three. I unfurled Amber Flare, keeping the heat as low as possible.

Two. I stopped on my heel, unleashing my whips behind me.

One. My tendrils wrapped around the metal scrap that Midoriya rode in on. I could see his eyes widen in panic, and he tried to unwrap his hands from his wired reins.

Zero. I swung with all my might, pulling Midoriya's body in an arc, and swiping him into the path of my opponents.

 _ **Thud. Thud. Smack!**_

Midoriya swiped headfirst into Todoroki's side, catching the ice user off guard. They tumbled and rolled, but the centripetal force acting on Midoriya continued to force him sideways and into his lifelong rival. Bakugou's eyes went wide as he didn't even have the time to let out a curse before being driven into the ground. The three of them impacted the ground before rolling to a stop, leaving a long cloud of dust in their wake.

I didn't stop to look at the damage I'd wrought. There was no time. They'd be up and angry in seconds. I pushed my muscles harder than I'd ever done before, squeezing the fruit of all my conditioning out of them. I left behind the minefield, left behind my rivals.

There was a gate in front of me, the same one that I'd exited the arena from. I sprinted through it.

As I exited the tunnel, the roar of the crowd stopped me. Bright lights flashed, and music thrummed. Blood rushed through my ears.

Just barely, over the sounds of crowds, I could make out the voice of Present Mic on the speakers. " **And Class 1-A's Kyousuke Watanabi has pulled out the victory! He is first to pass through the gate to make it to the next round!** "

Wait…

..What the fuck?

I glanced around the stadium, and saw no other students.

Holy shit.

I'd really done it.

I'd won the obstacle race.

* * *

 **Ha, yeah, so Kyou ended up winning the first challenge! I figured it would be a good way to show off some of the strengths that he'd been training over the time jump last chapter. I hope y'all liked it, because the planning of how I was going to write the Midoriya-pendulum attack took forever!**

 **Now, as I said at the top of the chapter, thank you so much for keeping with me after last update's fiasco. I'm am trying really hard to get the rest of this arc written so that I can hit all of my updates on time from now on! Now that I'm off for the semester, I should be much better about getting stuff written and done.**

 **Kind of as a compliment of that, the chapters might be getting a little shorter for the remainder of the Sports Festival arc because of how action packed it is. Now, before you freak out, this will most definitely lead to more frequent updates since I have to write less per chapter.**

 **BTW, did you guys see that this story has over 100 followers! I literally squealed when I saw that number. Like, full-on, five year old girl opening a Christmas present, squeal. Thank all 103 (as of upload) of you for supporting this story, because you guys are the ones I write for.**

 **Don't forget to favorite, follow, and review! The next guaranteed chapter will definitely be out on the 2nd! This is Rel, signing out!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Hey, everybody! So few things before we start. One, I wrote/edited this chapter almost entirely on the road, so if there are frequent misspellings or grammatical errors, please bear with me. And second, I just finished a 13+ hour road trip roughly *checks watch* 48 minutes ago, so please excuse the hour tardiness. Anyway, please enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

The roar of the crowd continued for minutes after I entered the arena, cheering for each student who trotted through the gates. Shortly after me, Todoroki raced across the finish line, Bakugou hot on his heels. I received a frigid cold glare and a scathing scowl from the two as they passed where I had collapsed in the grass. It was to be expected that Todoroki continued past me, moving to stand away from where the bulk of students would be, but Bakugou surprised me by marching away as well. The blonde grenade was seething, his fists clenched and eyes nearly bloodshot with rage. A Bakugou that was too angry to insult someone was a Bakugou to be scared of.

A few seconds after Bakugou, MIdoriya appeared from in the tunnel and crossed the finish line. I felt a pang of guilt when I saw the state he was in. His green hair was plastered to his face by sweat and dirt, and he was dragging his left leg in a wide gait. I stood to meet him as he approached.

When Midoriya spotted me, his green eyes darted to the ground. "Hey, Kyou." He said, voice low and heavy. "That was a smart pl-"

"I'm sorry, man." I interrupted the greenette before he could finish. I tasted dirt as I gritted my teeth. "That wasn't cool, dragging you down like that. I saw an opening and I took it, but it doesn't mean I don't feel bad."

Midoriya looked up to meet my eyes, and I could see speckles of moisture that had begun to form in the corners of his gaze. What surprised me even more, though, was the iron hard look of determination behind his eyes. The corners of his mouth were drawn tight into a smile that was only partially forced. "Thanks, Kyou. That fact that you said that means a lot, especially since you know why I can't, you know…" He shrugged, holding up his hands.

"Yeah, I get why you can't use your quirk." I smiled, thinking back to just a few minutes before. "That plan was insane, though! How the hell did you make that huge explosion?"

Midoriya murmured his answer at first, turning red under his curly hair, but spoke up when I gestured that I couldn't hear him. "I dug up the mines at the front of the field and piled them together…"

A sharp chuckle made its way from my lips as I could contain myself. "That's absurd! What if you flew off in the wrong direction?" I patted him on the shoulder a bit too hard, and he winced through his grin. "Sorry about that, too. I'm still getting used to holding back."

"That's okay." Midoriya started to return to a normal color. "You have a strength quirk now, right? From Nomu?"

I sobered up a bit, thinking of the giant bird-man that my power originated from. "Yeah, I've been working it out the last few weeks, but I finally got to use it properly."

Midoriya went to say something else, but another voice caught my attention. "You are the worst!" Shouted a feminine voice that I had never heard quite that angry before.

I turned, seeing my new… ..girlfriend?.. ..Huh. Anyway, Momo was leaning on her knees, trying to catch her breath. At first, I couldn't tell who she was talking to. Then, as she leaned over, I caught a glimpse of purple over her shoulder.

My teeth set in a hard line. "Sorry, Midoriya. I have to go take care of something. We're gonna need a clean-up on aisle four, cause I'm about to smash some grape jelly." I said, giving him a half-hearted wave without looking back.

I heard him murmur as I was leaving. "Uh, okay, then… ..bye?" Nice guy, that Midoriya. Not one for wordplay though.

I crossed the field, dodging more than a few incoming students who were still trickling in through the gate. Momo stood up when she saw me, face flushed and clearly more than a little frustrated and embarrassed with her situation. She went to speak, but I held a finger to my lips before giving it a twirl. Momo gave me a confused look, but complied.

I lowered myself to be at the same height as Momo's unwanted passenger. Beady little eyes met mine before going wide. "Hey, Mineta." I said, giving a casual and friendly tone that my expression did not match. "Whatchya doing there?"

Mineta had anchored several of his 'balls' to Momo's jacket, giving himself ample handholds. "Uhh… ...hi, Kyou." The slimy little pervert gulped. "I was just, uh, hitching a ride." He gave a shrug without releasing his grip, causing Momo's jacket to flex and tighten.

"Ahh!" I exhaled with mock surprise. "You were 'hitching a ride'! Okay, cool. I was worried for a second there, 'cause it looked like you were taking advantage of a classmate, and we wouldn't want that, would we?" I tilted my head, waiting for an answer.

Mineta swallowed again. "Um, no?"

"Right your are!" I reached out and patted him on the head. "Now, in the future, if I were to happen to see you doing something like that, there would have to be consequences." I didn't raise my hand from his temple after patting him, and instead tightened my grip. I let some of my new strength flow into it. Mineta's eyes flared, and his hands shot up to grab my own letting go of Momo's back. I held him suspended in the air, his grip unable to break mine.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow!" Mineta yelped. "Yeah, okay! Okay! I won't do it again!"

I waited a second before responding, getting no small amount of enjoyment out of this. "Are you sure?" I said, drawing out each word with another squeeze. His head felt like a bag of fist sized boba balls.

"Yes! Yes! I'm sure! Lemme go!" He began to wiggle like a worm on a hook.

I shrugged. "Alright then." I pulled my arm back, and overhead tossed him a few yards away. He landed with a grunt and scurried away, not risking even a glance back.

I dusted my hands and turned back to Momo. "Well, that's taken care of." I said.

Momo gave a small smile. "That was not very kind of you, Kyou." She said sternly, through her eyes sparkled with amusement.

"No, I guess it wasn't." I shrugged. "Too bad, guess I won't be making friends with literal human trash today." I gestured to the speaker's podium, where Ms. Midnight was already gathering the rest of the students. "Shall we be on our way?"

"We shall." She hopped into step wit me, discarding her sullied jacket and created a new one, free from Mineta's quirk

* * *

" **The first game for the first-years is finally over! What a game it was!** " Ms. Midnight announced into her microphone, addressing both the students and the audience. " **Now, let's take a quick look at the standings, shall we?** "

Even though I knew I had come in first place, seeing my name at the top of the scoreboard in bright orange letters caused me to inhale. What series of unfortunate events had me on top of even half of the people here?

Below my name came Todoroki, Bakugou, and Midoriya, predictably in second, third, and fourth place respectively. Iida was in seventh, and Tokoyami right behind him in eighth. Kirishima rounded out the top ten. Past that, the only ones that I cared to notice were Sato, Uraraka, Momo, and Mina filling spots sixteen through nineteen. There were quite a few class 1-B names on the list. I did spot, however, one general education and one support course student each on the roster of forty-two students.

Ms. Midnight quickly came on the speakers to explain the absence of all the other students. " **Only the top forty-two will advance to the next round, but don't be too let down if you didn't make the cut. We've prepared other opportunities for you to shine.** " The R-rated Hero licked her lips suggestively, causing the trademark shiver through the students that only happened in such cases. " **Now the real fun is about to begin! The chance to fully move into the limelight, give it your best! Let's see what will be next?** " She flicked her whip, and the screen began to cycle through events the same way it had to announce the obstacle course. The students all around me began to tense in anticipation. " **Will your wildest fantasies come true? Prepare yourselves, for this!** "

The screen flashed it's final time, revealing the next event with a flourish of Ms. Midnight's hands. "A cavalry battle?" Momo sighed from beside me.

"What? Is something wrong with that?" I asked. I had always been okay at these in gradeschool, though not too many people had wanted to be on my team at any given time.

She sighed again, puhsing her dark hair out of her face. "It's not an individual event, so we will have to rely on others. Are you not worried?"

I shook my head. "Nah, there's got to be a reward or something for coming in first place, right? I'm sure it'll turn out fine."

" **Allow me to explain!** **The participants will form teams of two to four people as the seem fit!"** Momo and I exchanged a quick glance and nodded. We both knew who would be on our team, no questions asked or exchanged. " **In theory it's the same as a regular playground game, but there is one difference. Each player has been awarded a point value based on the results from the obstacle point increments go up by increments of five, starting from the bottom. For example, forty-second place is worth five points and forty-first is worth ten!"**

I looked down at my fingers thinking about the breakdown there. Okay, I should be worth somewhere around two hundred points.I started to add Momo's score when I felt a set of eyes on me. Ms. Midnight was looking down on me from the stage, holding her arm above her head, ready to deliver the next part of her speech. I felt a cold chill run through my body as she licked her lips the hell did I do to deserve that look?

" **And the point value assigned to the first place student is,** " She paused for suspense. " **Ten million points!** "

I, conservatively, could feel roughly fifteen million eyes turn and point in my direction. Hungry stares and ambitious glares were the mildest of looks I received. The collective jealousy of every first year student at U.A. was focused on my gangly ass and the ten million points stapled to it.

God damn it.

* * *

Ms. Midnight continued to explain the rules of the game, citing the fact that each team would be given a headband with their combined point values on it. Whoever had the most points at the end of the cavalry battle would be declared the winner. While that was all nice and good, I was still thinking about how utterly boned I was.

My ten million was an automatic victory to whatever team held onto the nad at the end of the match. While and idiot might think that would give my team and advantage, they would be just that, an idiot. My headband was a death sentence, a punishment for coming in first place instead of a reward. Every other team would be gunning for me, and that greatly reduced my chances of winning.

" **Now, you've got fifteen minutes to make up your teams! I recommend you get started!** " Ms. Midnight finished with a strong dismissal. There was an immediate dispersal of students as people began to group up with their friends or negotiate for spots on teams.

It took just a few seconds for Momo, Kirishima, and Mina to form a semicircle in front of me. Each of them stood with their eyes expectantly on me. There was no hesitation in their step, even with the threat of ten million points hanging over their heads.

I cracked a small grin. "So, uh, yeah. Guess we're gonna be the shoe-ins to win?"

There was a collective chuckle, but it was more uneasy than anything, Kirishima spoke up. "So what's the plan? How are we going to keep the ten million for fifteen minutes?"

Mina shook her head in agreement. "Like, yeah! There's gonna be a bunch of teams after us.

"Well, the most efficient plan would be to assume a keep-away formation." Momo answered. "We could increase our mobility and attempt to remain untouched."

"We could do that." I said, feeling their gazes turn back to me. "But we could also go on the offensive."

"Wait, like, what do you mean?" Mina asked. "We don't need anymore points with the ten million." Kirishima and Momo nodded and gave me similar questioning looks.

"Hear me out." I gestured to close our team huddle, and they drew closer. "If we start collecting headbands, the other teams will have no choice but to go after each other to try and make it to the next round. Plus, we'll have more headbands to hide our own with."

Momo snapped her fingers, and idea obviously popping into her head. "We should also turn the headbands inside out, so that the other teams won't know which headband to aim for."

I grinned, the beginnings of a plan lifting my spirits. "Sounds good, you'll have to remember to do that."

Again, all of my teammates regarded me with confusion. Mina spoke up first. "Aren't you, like, gonna be the rider Kyou? Isn't that normally where, like, the person in charge goes?"

"Nope." I shook my head. "Strategically, it makes no sense to have our biggest member being carried, especially not when I can act as a speed boost with my strength. I think that the most versatile quirk should go on top." I gave Momo a look. "You up for it?"

"Me?" She pointed at herself in surprise, before shaking herself out of it. Momo cleared her throat in the most dainty of manners. "Well, yes, I believe I can do it." Her eyes shone with determination, and I felt my heart get a few pounds lighter.

I turned my head to Kirishima. "We'll need a heavy front if we're going to go rampaging through the other groups. You ready to charge the bastards?"

Kirishima gave a trademark fist-pump. "I wouldn't be a man if I wasn't ready!"

Finally, I flicked my eyes to the only pink member of our group. "And you ready to melt the asses off everybody who's gonna be running away?"

Mina's eyes lit up, and her pink curls bounced and she excitement. "You betcha!"

"Good!" I glanced up at the countdown clock. "Now, we still have ten minutes left, so we should scatter and gather info about the other teams before the match. Go team!"

With a clap and a nod, we broke off. Mina and Kirishima walked off together to scout, while Momo hung back for a moment. A soft hand pulled my shoulder down to her level. Her eyes, while still showing a steel of determination, had a glimmer of worry in them.

"What's up?" I asked.

"You had me take the position of rider for another reason than just my quirk's versatility, correct?" Momo bit her lip, waiting for my answer.

I paused before sighing. "You got me." I held up my hand in a surrender. "I also didn't want to take the position myself because I'm playing my quirks close to my chest." I put an emphasis on the pluralizing of _quirks_. "Just because the school knows, that doesn't mean the audience does."

Momo's eyes widened with understanding. "But then, you've already used multiple quirks?"

I shook my head. "Besides Amber Flare, everything else I've done can be explained away with rampant athleticism. I don't know what I'll do when I have to use my quirks, but I'll burn that bridge when I come to it."

Momo didn't seem quite convinced, but she nodded anyway. "Alright, I trust that you are conscious of what you are doing. At least now I know the real reason you chose me." Her gaze lowered a bit. Not enough for anyone who didn't know her to notice, but I caught it.

"Momo." I said, giving my voice a hard edge. "I would have chosen to have you as our rider, regardless. Giving me an excuse to hide the rest of my quirks is just a cherry on top." I tried to look comforting

She turned her dark eyes up to mine, and gave me a small smile that was somewhere between reassurance and amusement. "Good. Now, let's gather information, as we are supposed to be doing." She raised an eyebrow pointedly.

"It's not my fault!" I protested. "You're the one who stopped us."

Momo chuckled. "You should understand that it is always your fault."

I couldn't argue with that.

* * *

I found Midoriya sobbing himself into the floor.

To rewind slightly, Momo and I found Midoriya with a pink haired girl, the support course student, crying his eyes out over his lack of teammates. It took a few minutes to piece together what had happened.

"Okay, let me get this straight. One sniffle for yes, two for no." I sighed. "You're saying that Iida went to Todoroki's team to show that he's your rival and that he can surpass you."

One sniffle in the affirmative from the living water hose.

"And Uraraka was going to be on your team, but Bakugou came out of nowhere and took her?" Even my voice cracked a little at that one. What the hell did Bakugou need Uraraka for?

One sniffle. Two sniffles. Three sniffl- He was crying again.

The support student leaned over. "Yeah, that guy took her. He said 'Pink Cheeks, you're with me!' and left. Dumb guy. Should have taken some of my precious babies!" Just as quickly as she had entered the conversation, the support student left it, hugging a metal box that she'd been adjusting for the entire conversation.

I sighed again, giving Momo a dry look. She shrugged. "Fuck…" I murmured to myself. There was no way that I could leave Midoriya teamless after I had literally grounded him in the last round. Hell, if he'd gotten first place, I'm sure he'd have loads of people trying to team up with him.

Someone bumped my shoulder to walk past me, and in that moment, I was hit by inspiration. Without looking, I latched onto that shoulder and pulled them into our circle. "Do you have a team yet?" I asked, maybe a bit harsher than intended.

After absorbing the guy's looks, I realized that I recognized his absurdly large crown of purple hair from somewhere. "Oh, hey, you're that guy who applauded me first during my speech!"

"Uh…" The guy's sunken eyes seemed at a loss for words. He swallowed, trying to regain his composure. Props to him for recovering so quickly from a surprise interview. "No, I don't have a team yet. And yes, I did clap." The guy's voice was deep and hoarse, as though he didn't speak very often.

I nodded. "Good, you're on a team with this guy." I placed a hand on either shoulder and steered him in front of Midoriya.

"Wha-" The purple haired student looked down at the now recovering form of Midoriya, and looked back up at me. "This guy?"

"Yep! Good luck with that!" I turned a heel and gave a half-handed wave. I called back to him. "You've only got a couple of minutes to plan, so you'd best get on it!"

Ah, it felt nice to not have to deal with something anymore, especially when you push your problems onto other people. I could get used to this.

I turned back to Momo, who was doubled over, clutching her stomach and mouth in a fit of giggles. "What? Did I do something wrong?"

It took her a few moments to calm herself, taking deep breaths to still her laughter, but eventually she was able to speak. "Kyou, if I ever ask that you solve a problem for me, please insist that you are at least the third person that I see. You are far too unconventional otherwise."

In days past, I might have responded to that statement with mock offense or shame, but by now I could simply take it in stride. "'Ill timed and poorly thought out.'" I repeated. "I told you, I'm living by those words now."

Again, Momo collapsed into a laughing fit. This time, however, I laughed along with her. I pulled her along as we enjoyed the moment, actually having a goal in mind.

"Now, come on." I urged, still smiling. "I wasn't kidding when I said there was only a few minutes left! We have to actually plan something before we start!"

We ran to rejoin Mina and Kirishima to get a game plan together for the cavalry battle, because there was no way in hell we were gonna lose.

* * *

 **So, yeah. The planning for the pre-CB stage of the competition is finishing up, and we're gonna get a full-on, action-packed battle royal in the next chapter!**

 **Seeker of Immortality - I, too, am excited to see Kyou vs all the big members of Class 1-A, though I can't say which ones (spoilers, obviously), because writing battles is my favorite part of doing this fic, especially ones with meaning! And yes, this spoiler I can give you, Kyou did fill out the forms for his bandolier. He hasn't pulled it out yet because, like he mentions to Momo, he's not sure when or how to properly and publicly reveal his quirks. Anyway, thanks for keeping up and consistently reviewing! It means a lot.**

 **TheKwertyOne - Thank you for pointing that out! I always appreciate knowing when I misuse a word. If you spot any more, feel free to DM me a list so I can eventually go back and fix them all!**

 **Raidentensho - Oof, I wish Kyou could fix his ribs like that. Unfortunately, the bottom ones were all but powdered with an unreasonable amount of compound fractures and are now just warped to the wrong shape. I do appreciate how you look forward to try and figure out solutions to things, though. Maybe you're not entirely on the wrong track!**

 **Thanks for the reviews everybody, please don't forget to favorite and follow to get the latest updates to the story! Due to a scheduling thing with work, I'm going to be working late on the upcoming due date, so the next guaranteed chapter is out on either Friday the 14th or Monday the 17th, depending on when I can get it done.**

 **This is Rel, signing out!**


	20. Chapter 20

The staff had each team start in a circle around the field, set up and ready to go before the game officially started. This gave us a few minutes to work out the positioning for the cavalry stance.

Momo shifted in place, her weight changing from her right to her left foot. I glanced up, but averted my gaze. I could feel the heat rise up my throat.

I looked to my right to look away, but I caught Mina giving me a sly grin. "Shut up…" I murmured.

She hummed in response.

Clearing my throat, I let my voice rise. "Are you guys ready for this?" I said.

Mina smiled again and gave a thumbs up, and Kirishima pumped his fist. Momo answered in the affirmative, giving me a nod.

I grinned. "I can't hear you! ARE YOU READY TO CHARGE THESE ASSHOLES?"

"YES!" My team shouted. Anticipation and pride filled my heart.

Ms. Midnight took her spot on the judge's podium, and raised her whip in a salute to the other teams. I took that opportunity to look across the field at the ring of teams. There were some formidable, scary, and just plain confounding match-ups out there.

Two teams to my right, I could feel Bakugou's intense glare and his hungry ambition atop his horses of Sero and Uraraka, with Sato as the frontrunner. No one there looked particularly happy, and Uraraka was almost shaking in her uniform. I still wasn't sure why Bakugou would call her out, but it didn't make me comfortable that he seemed to have a plan.

Todokroki stood behind Iida's tall frame, the two of them posing an intimidating silhouette, especially with Ojiro and Aoyama stapled to their flanks. While I wasn't normally one to fear someone like Aoyama, Todorki had access to long distance attacks, and I did not. Sato was a beast all on his own, as he'd shown during the Entrance Exam, and Ojiro was going to give them far greater mobility in direction with that tail. Not to mention the Ice Queen himself, staring Midoriya down from across the field.

Not gonna lie, I'm a little offended that he's still on his anti-Midoriya kick, especially after I kicked his butt last round.

Midoriya had found his fourth teammate in Tokoyami, who stood as his front horse, with Purple-Hair and the support student as his rear horses. After a quick moment, I had to do a double take. Midoriya was holding a heavy metal pistol of some kind. It's barrel was really wide and tapered at the back, but yeah, it's definitely a gun. That was something to look out for.

After what felt like an hour, but in reality had only been a few seconds, Ms. Midnight dropped her arm. " **Begin!"**

I looked forward at the ring of teams that each wanted a crack at our points. A rumble of feet and a shout of battlecries sounded the beginning of the hunt for ten million points. I let out a laugh.

"Kirishima. Lead the charge."

We stepped toward the fray.

* * *

Bakugou was the first to reach us, making it clear just what he'd needed Uraraka for. We had ample warning, explosions firing off on all cylinders, but it was the direction of the thunder that threw me off.

From above, Bakugou's entire team dropped like a sac of rocks. " **DIE!** " He shouted as he made a swipe for Momo's head. She managed a shield up to deflect in time, a metal one strapped to her forearm, but he pushed us off our axis. Mina stepped to the right a little too far, and I could feel Momo's weight fluctuating from foot to foot. I threw my weight to the left, Grasping Momo's foot and Mina's arm, and bringing us back to level.

Bakugou missed his second attack, and left us with a few explosions, his team dangling from his legs. "Elbows! Bring us back around!" He shouted, foam almost spraying from his mouth.

"Holy shit…" I muttered. "Ururuka is almost letting them fly…" And I was right. With the constant explosions from Bakugou giving them lift, Sero let loose a strip of tape to anchor them and change their direction. Sato and Uraraka looked helpless, but they help on with iron grips. Bakugou, somewhere between half a murderous dream, had achieved something incredible.

The blonde monkey was now a flying blonde monkey.

Luckily, Bakugou didn't have time to come at us for another round, because another team was on his back. Another blonde that I didn't recognize, other than he was from class 1-B, was using his team to hop through the sky on what looked like plates of solid air. They stepped in to interfere, but I quickly lost sight of them as the remainder of the teams converged on our location.

Multiple teams from both classes had made it to us. Hagakure, on Jirou and Kaminari, made a grab for the ten million, but Mina quickly misted a light corrosive, showing the air around the invisible rider and giving Momo time to dodge. Kirishima hardened his skin and rammed his chest into another team. I batted away a few more hands before whipping out Amber Flare on my left hand. We were getting boxed in, almost every team was on us.

From above me, Momo shouted out orders. "Defensive formation, break the left flank!" There was a collective grunt of acceptance.

I spun Amber Flare like a bolas, creating a transparent wall of yellow like a few feet wide, and pressed forward. The heat was enough to get a few teams to back away, and we were into open field. We made it a few steps before Momo shouted the next order. "Rotate back, offensive formation!"

On a dime, the group rotated with me as the pivot, swinging our right side back. With the absence we had made in the center of the circle, the other teams had fallen on each other in the confusion. Limbs and Quirks impacted and held. I spotted a redheaded girl, hands as large as fridges, wrap one fist around another team and pluck the headband off of them. Shoji ran with his arms flared behind him, seemingly alone until you noticed Tsu's pink tongue and Mineta's grapes extending from the space between his arms. I could no longer spot Hagakure because her headband had been taken, though Jirou and Kaminari still supported her.

My attention waned as Momo handed out the second part of the plan. I made eye contact with her, and for once she was the one who winked. Our plan was working out so far. She turned, and gave the order that I'd been waiting for. " **Fire!** "

 _Click._

 _ZWIP! ZWIP! ZWIP!_

As one, Mina, Momo, and I fired small handheld wire-guns, aimed at the foreheads of enemy teams. Mine went sailing through the air, flying at yellow and ceramic head of a Class 1-B student who was getting into a brawl with Shoji. The small, metallic clip was zipped around, and found purchase on the strip of white around his head.

 _SHRIP!_

The velcro gave way and the headband came flying off. As it returned to my hand, I gave a cheerful look to my team. Momo was beaming, though Mina held a frown and was firing her gun again. Two hits and a miss. Too bad. I didn't have time to see what Momo had scored, but my headband proudly read **225** as I passed up to her. She flipped it around and wrapped it against her collar.

"Great!" I half-shouted. "Now we should reposition over- Gah!"

I tripped, losing my footing as something impacted into my leg. Mina and Kirishima steadied me even as we retreated, them supporting both mine and Momo's weight. I l blinked downwards, and there was a weighted net wrapped around my left ankle, entangling my boot and making it almost impossible to drag that foot along. I looked up to make eye contact with green eyes. Midoriya gave me a look, giving an apologetic shrug as he held up the pistol I'd seen earlier. His support student friend was practically glowing.

Cheeky asshole. Slowing me down even after I'd helped him build his team. It's almost like this was a competition or something.

Midoriya raised the gun to fire again, but Momo saw him coming this time. "Rotation, right flank! Mina, defensive position!"

Kirishima took the brunt of the weight and momentum in my place for this turn, and Mina let out a giggle as she melted the incoming net. "Sorry, Midori-slow! Gonna have to come at us again!"

"Kyou!" Momo's voice cracked a little, and I looked up to see the source of her apprehension. Todoroki's team was standing at the edge of the field, Aoyama's flank turned towards us.

"I see him!' I barked, trying to shake the weighted net off my leg. "Shit! I can't get this off, and I can't run with it on!"

"Guys!" MIna cried out. "Midori's team is, like, coming our way!" I didn't have time to point out that she was the one who had called him over.

I glanced over and Bakugou was still engaged in his sky battle with the Class 1-B students. Thank All Might for small miracles. Too bad we didn't have Bakugou's firepower, because that would take off my obstruction with little issue. Mina would burn me if she tried, and I had my hands full staying up, so Amber Flare was out of the question.

Momo jerked in my hands, pulling to her left as a beam of blue light flew past her. Aoyama's Navel Lazer had activated and she'd dodged it this time.

Wait.

You could dodge the laser, meaning you could see it move before it hits you. And Idea wormed its way into existence in my head. "Guys, rotate left flank to Todoroki! You guys worry about Midoriya!"

Without hesitation, they moved. From my position, I could see Todoroki mutter something to Aoyama, who nervously nodded his head and went to fire. I couldn't see Midoriya's team, but I could hear the sound of Tokoyami unleashing Dark Shadow's wings. I would get one shot at this before Midoriya's team was on us.

Aoyama released his blast, I calmed my mind and lifted my leg in front of me. Like a cylinder in a round hole, Aoyama's blast hit just where I wanted, obliterating the black netting around my ankle, and scattering off of my Rebounded leg. Hopefully the onlookers would think the net did that naturally, but I'd had no choice.

Blue light scattered in rays and beams in every direction, the semi-physical nature of it interacting oddly with my quirk. As the light burst, however, I could hear an inhuman screech sound off behind eyes followed it to Dark Shadow, who had seemingly recoiled in pain.

"Well isn't that nice to know…" Without looking, I knew that the rest of my team had caught it, as I felt them nod in the affirmative. "Momo, give us some light, force 'em back!"

Momo let out a deep breath and forced her palm forward, a small black cylinder appearing in her palm. A maglite. A beam of yellow light shone through it, forcing back the nightmarish monster and Midoriya's team with it.

Unfortunately for me, I had been paying far too much attention to their flank and not on my own.

 _ZWOOSH!_

The air was knocked from my lungs as Aoyama's fourth beam hit my square in the back, toppling me forward. I stumbled, almost bringing my team down with me. I walked it forward, spreading out the momentum.

In that few seconds of pain, however, a telltale crystalline sound went off from across the field, and a glacier appears to my right, cutting us off from all teams except for one.

Momo's next yell answered the question that no one had asked. "Todoroki incoming!"

The sound of quick steps and the occasional tail slap ferried Todorki's team forward with a pace that not even I could match. They danced across our defenses, their formation glancing off our own with Ojiro impacting Mina's side. Kirishima shoved Mina back to take the brunt of it, but it still threw us. Momo brought up her forearms to block her head, but the sadistic icy-hot asshole didn't even go for her neck. He brought is right hand up and tapped her on the elbow, allowing ice to run up the join of her arms and keep them locked together.

Momo cried out and began to topple backwards, and Mina was in no condition to catch her. As she fell, she brought both my teammates down with her, and my brain flashed back to the rule about falling. In that moment I wrapped my arms around MIna, Kirishima, and my popsicle of a girlfriend, and lifted with all of my strength. Muscles stretched and tendons popped as I resisted three humans worth of weight. Dear god this was heavy, holy shit.

I struggled for seconds, precious seconds that Todoroki's team needed to line up their next attack, but I held all of my teammates in place. As I could feel Iida stomping towards us, I felt an itch in the back of my head, and a power called me. This was it.

At the last second before they collided again, a shout screamed from the sky, and hell rained down.

" **Get the fuck off, Icy-hot!** " Bakuogu shouted as his team dangled from his legs. " **I'm gonna win those points!** "

The blonde hand grenade fell onto Todoroki's team, explosions firing. Sato let out a yell as he impacting into Ojiro, the two becoming a flurry of limbs. Sero fired a line of tape into the fray. Urarak tried to held, but took an elbow to the face from one of Bakugou's miscalculated swings.

The itch went away.

Todoroki pulled back from Bakugou, and extracted his team from the skirmish. In that time, my team regained their legs and backed away. Todoroki's ice wall from earlier still held, blocking off all but the one team that could fly from interfering. We three teams were truly alone.

For the first time that match, I could hear Present Mic's voice over the roar of combat. " **We have just one minute left! Let's see how these tunes are gonna rock the billboards, ladies and gentle-listeners!** "

I watched that information spread across the other two teams, and a motion that was becoming far too familiar came to be once more. All eyes turned towards my team.

* * *

Bakugou shouted first, but it was Todoroki's team that made the first move. Blue fire shot from Iida's legs, and he moved at an inhuman, borderline unseeable motion. Todoroki's arm shot out as they made an arc around our position, and a quick ripping noise signalled the release of a headband. Iida stopped them maybe twenty yards past us, his exhaust pipes bubbling black smoke. All that in less than ten seconds.

There was a pause as everyone watched Todoroki flip over the band.

 **135.** The band that Momo had grabbed earlier

Bakugou continued with his assault after the low score was revealed, his team using their full power to push off the ground. Momo raised s shield, but Sato wrenched it from her grasp. Mina couldn't get her acid out quick enough, still stunned by Iida's attack. My hand raised, and I made a blind grab to try and catch anything that would slow them down. A rip of clothing and I had failed.

Bakugou wrestled one of Momo's bands away, kneeing me as he did. " **Elbows!** " He shouted, and I helplessly watched Sero pull them back, anchoring a piece of tape to the wall and pulling away.

Bakugou flipped both middle fingers up as he flew away, his red eyes locked onto my own, a silent retribution for the results of the battle training exercise. I had no way of knowing which headband he got, but he'd had a fifty-fifty chance to get the ten million.

He looked down at his hands, and his grin widened more than I had ever seen it before.

 _BZZZZZZZ!_

The buzzer sounded, and the game was over. Fuck.

I dropped my shoulders in shame. Mina and Kirishima let go, leaving Momo balanced in my hands. I slowly and carefully let her down, and wandered off for a half second. Shit, I had blown the game. If I had just gotten a higher point value earlier, then we might have made it. There was no way we had gotten to the next round off of two-hundred and twenty-five points.

Present Mic began announcing the scores for the game. " **First place, Team Bakugou with 10,000,765 points!** "

God damn it. He was going to be insufferable after this. I didn't even make it into the final round.

" **Second place to Team Midoriya, with 1455 points!** " Present Mic continued.

Wow, Midoirya had racked up a crap ton of points outside the ring. That net gun combo must have gotten him a few good scores. Good for him. Too bad I wouldn't get to fight him. I clenched my fists.

A pair of slender arms wrap around my neck from behind me. "Kyou, look at your hand." Momo whispered soothingly, though excitement couldn't be kept from her voice.

I looked down, and my heart stopped for the thirty or fortieth time today.

" **Third place, Team Yaoyorozu, with 905 points!** " The red **680** in my hand glowered at me, making fun of me for not realizing I had snagged Bakugou's headband with my blind grab earlier. I turned and pulled Momo into a wide hug. She returned it heartily.

" **Fourth place, Team Todoroki with 620 points!** " Present Mic said. " **And that's all she wrote, folks!** **We're gonna take a quick lunch break before going to our final sixteen competitors!** "

* * *

 **Oof, that chapter took for freaking ever to write! One giant action sequence, but I hope it was well worth the wait! That was the cavalry battle, and next we'll be onto a bit of small talk and the final tournament bracket!**

 **Seeker of Immortality - Thank you so much for your comment, that really means a lot! I try to get Kyou down as best I can, since he's an OC and all, so your review really makes it feel like I'm succeeding. I totally agree that the Canon Shinso v. Midoriya fight shouldn't happen, especially because both of those characters are in different places here than they were in Canon, but also because of their team up. There will be match-ups, can't say who, that will be the same, but that is mostly to highlight the differences between the characters here vs in canon. Thank you so much for you review.**

 **Hope y'all enjoyed this week's chapter! The next chapter will be out on Sunday, June 30th! Don't forget to Follow and Favorite! This is Rel, signing out!**


	21. Chapter 21

"Kill me, please…."

Momo sighed. "Kyou, I hardly believe that the lack of yakisoba is enough reason to warrant your death. Please eat your food before the lunch break is over."

"Yeah man, you need to keep your strength up for the next round." Kirishima said, sliding his tray forward. "You want some of my bento?"

"No… ...It's not the same." I pouted into my ramen. The most stressful day this school had put me through so far, and it was the one day that Lunch-Rush didn't have yakisoba on the menu. Lame.

"Well, Kyou, are you , like, ready to fight everybody else?" Mina inquired, waving her chopsticks around to point out some of nearby classmates. "We kinda got our butts kicked by Roki and Baku-jerk. Do you have and, like, plans to beat 'em up?"

I shrugged. "You say got our butts kicked, I say heroically held out against the long odds. Six of one, half a dozen of the other. I think one on one I could take them, but them ganging up on us was too much." I glanced around, frowning at the faces I didn't see. "Speaking of, where are they? You'd think Bakugou would be hungry after his first place."

Momo nodded, before her brow furrowed. "What about Todoroki?"

"Well, soulless robots don't eat, so I didn't actually expect to see him here." I slurped some noodles. "Actually, now that I think about it, where's Midoriya? Are you the only team leader here?"

"I believe I am. Odd, I wonder where they all went." Momo said, scanning the room.

I stood up, my chair creaking as it dragged across the ground. "I'm gonna go find them. Midoriya, at the very least, should eat before the next round. He's probably gonna need the extra calcium after he snaps a few more bones."

Mina and Kirishima both shrugged, but Momo gave me a worried look. "Kyou…" She mumbled, gesturing down to my noodles, of which I had eaten less than half.

I gave a reassuring grin, picking up my bowl. "Alright, I'll walk and chow at the same time. Does that make you happy?"

Her shoulders relaxed the tiniest bit, and amusement glittered in her eyes. "Not nearly as much as you continuing to eat with us, but it will do." Momo gave me a small smile that had nearly become her trademark.

Ba-dump goes the heart. Damn. My mind flashed back to the arena tunnels not two hours earlier. For a moment I considered staying, but the curiosity about the other team's leader's locations won out. I gave a smile, a wave, and a half-decent slurp of noodles.

* * *

I wandered around for a solid ten minutes, encountering very few people in the halls. With the small break between events, it seemed that the audience had flooded out into the stalls to gather food and drink. Occasionally I would pass a random teacher or student, but none that I really recognized.

I wasn't until I turned the corner to leave the stadium proper did I see a puff of blonde hair peek out from the dim hallway lighting. I went to call out to Bakugou, but his expression caught me off guard. The human hand grenade was deep in thought, brow furrowed and hands shoved in his pockets as he pressed his back against the wall.

I walked up slowly, taking the same light steps that one would use to approach a wild animal. While I had no proof that Bakugou was raised by animals, the image of him as an angry badger called to me. I took a draught of noodle broth in deep thought.

Bakugou's head whipped up, his gaze locking onto my movement with razor precision. I froze.

Instead of shouting, glaring, or berating me, as I have come to expect from him, Bakugou frowned at me. He raised one hand, placing a finger to his lips and gestured with a nod to approach. Weird, the generally inoffensive greeting felt more ominous than anything else.

I continued my walk and realized that I could hear voices coming from past Bakugou, around the corner that he was standing by. A low, cold voice was speaking at barely higher than a murmur. "-at the USJ, when we fought those villains, I was the only one who felt your true power. It reminded me of All Might's."

Well, shit. Todoroki's voice was recognizable anywhere, his lack of emotion draining every word. And with the subject matter, I would bet ten bucks that he was talking to someone with green hair and a habit of crying on a dime. I looked at Bakugou and mouthed Midoriya's name. He nodded.

Todoroki continued as I sidled up next to Bakugou, quietly finishing my lunch. "The experience of seeing All Might's quirk not fifteen minutes later cemented the fact that you two have the same quirk."

Well, ten points to Gryffindor. Todoroki was right on the money so far. Midoriya's voice was strained as he responded. "W-well, that's not really- I mean, that's not-" He stuttered, trying to dig himself out of this one.

"Midoriya." Todoroki said sternly, quieting him. "Answer me this. Are you All Might's secret love child or something?"

I had to smother my laughter into the last of my udon. What the fuck, Todoroki? The amount of difference in their physicality alone should have tipped him off that his crack-pot theory was wrong. Though without his prior knowledge of quirk transferability, I guess it made sense.

I glance up at Bakugou, who's scowl had deepened over the course of the conversation. I couldn't read what he thought of the conversation, or even ask him without alerting Todoroki, but he obviously didn't approve of something.

Midoriya began speaking as his brain absorbed what Todoroki had asked him. "Wait! That's totally not it at all! That's crazy!"

"'That's not it at all'?" Todoroki said in a lazily intimidating tone. "That implies that there is a connection between you and the number one hero."

Midoriya didn't respond.

"I'm sure that you are aware of my connection to the number two hero?" Midoriya must have nodded, because Todoroki continued. "He is my father, and that puts me as his surrogate in the upcoming generation of heroes. He has chosen this for me, molded me using an outdated custom. Midoriya, do you know what a quirk marriage is?"

I winced. Quirk marriages used to be super common, especially when quirks first started to appear. In fact, my grandparents had been a quirk-arranged marriage. Pairing people together based on there quirks was normally a bad idea, though it had turned out fine in my case. It didn't sound like it had gone that way for the Todoroki family.

"My father paid my mother's family for her, gaining her as his wife for her powerful ice quirk." Todoroki narrated. "He forced her to give birth to multiple children, trying to get the perfect combination of their quirks. He discarded my siblings when none of them could carry both quirks as I can. My mother hated my father, and she hated the parts of him that she could see in me. When I was a child, my mother was so horrified by my father's quirk that she poured boiling water on my face to try and burn him out."

"I have not seen my mother since then." He continued. "My father put her in a hospital because of what she did to me. So there is a reason, that I want to become the number one hero without using my father's cursed quirk. My father has no greater failing than his inability to overcome All Might. If you have All Might in your corner, than I have every reason to defeat you without my father's quirk."

Steps began to retreat away from us, and I felt a sinking presence in my chest. Before I had time to digest, however, a second set of feet followed the first.

"Todoroki!" Midoriya called out. "It doesn't matter if you need to beat me, because I also need to beat you! I need to come out of this festival on top, and I'm going to use my full power to fight you!"

A small bit of pride ballooned in my chest. It was good to know that Midoriya was put down my the depressing story that he had just heard.

"So, what did you think of all that?" I asked with a quizzical look to Bakugou after Midoriya's footsteps faded into the distance.

The resident walking explosion shrugged and shoved his hands deeper into his pockets. "I think

that it changed nothing. Icy-hot is still an asshole, Deku is still a useless worm, and I'm still gonna kick your ass." Bakugou's voice was sharp, but it lacked its normal heat. "I better not see you again 'til we're in the ring, Salad Fuck."

Bakugou turned around the corner that Todoroki and Midoriya had walked down, and disappeared from sight. I sat there for a few moments, considering what I had just heard. While Todoroki had a messed-up backstory, I didn't feel any more sympathy towards his vendetta against Midoriya.

Todoroki wanted to be his own person, and he had to be held to those standards. While he was attempting to spite his father to prove that, he also needed to learn that he couldn't base his individuality on being a dick and underpowering yourself to win.

All in all, my opinions were left mostly unchanged. Yet again, Bakugou spoke more sense than I think he intended. I picked up my ramen bowl and headed off to the arena.

* * *

They had us assemble in the stadium field at each of our respective class gates. Ms. Midnight was yet again stood upon her announcer's podium. As we filed in, I caught up with Momo, Mina, Kirishima.

"Hey, man!" Kirishima fist-bumped me as I approached. "Did you end up finding them?"

"Yes and no." I said. "I'll explain later, promise."

He gave me a questioning look, but nodded anyway. "Alright, but make sure you remember."

" **Welcome back to this year's rockin' First Year Sport's Festival!"** Present Mic's voice carried over the arena speakers. " **If you'll remember before we all tuned out for lunch, we've counted down to our top sixteen on the charts!** "

The audience screamed in anticipation as the giant screen displayed all sixteen of us with our names and school photos, as well as the class listings. I gulped as my face was plastered onto the screens of millions of people. No pressure or anything if we lose, right?

Ms. Midnight raised her whip to gain the crowd's attention. " **This year, for our third and final round of competition, we have prepared something special for you!** " She paused as the lottery graphic came up behind her. " **Our top sixteen will be competing in a single elimination combat bracket! Single students will face off against each other in a competition of combat prowess and resolve! Hopefully we'll see our precious sixteen pound into each other, for fun of course."** The pro-hero licked her lips.

I glanced around at the others who I would be competing against. Midoriya stood tall, his conversation with Todoroki seeming to spur him on. Todoroki, on the other hand, couldn't look less interested. Bakugou was bouncing on his heel, and I could feel the raw excitement pouring off of him.

My friends, while still standing beside me, each shifted in their own way. Mina's smile took on a devilish quality, the kind that made you want to go by new shampoo, because there was no way yours wasn't booby trapped. Kirishima stood taller, like a soldier who was about to salute. I think I saw a tear of joy somewhere in there, but I can't be sure. Momo closed her eyes, thinking about something with a stern expression on her face. I sidled next to her, bumping her shoulder with my own. She opened her eyes, before giving me a soft smile.

" **Now, let's see who our students will be facing off against first!** " Ms. Midnight threw both hands into the air, and the screen shifted once more. This time, a simple gray graphic had each name lined in columns, with lines connecting names of sets of opponents to each other.

 **Round 1, Match 1 - Momo Yaoyorozu vs Fumikage Tokoyami**

 **Round 1, Match 2 - Mina Ashido vs Yuga Aoyama**

 **Round 1, Match 3 - Katsuki Bakugou vs Ochako Uraraka**

 **Round 1, Match 4 - Izuku Midoriya vs Mei Hatsume**

 **Round 1, Match 5 - Rikido Sato vs Hitoshi Shinso**

 **Round 1, Match 6 - Tenya Iida vs Shoto Todoroki**

 **Round 1, Match 7 - Mashirou Ojiro vs Eijirou Kirishima**

 **Round 1, Match 8 - Hanta Sero vs Kyousuke Watanabi**

Wow, there was a lot to break down there. First thing's first, I wasn't fighting until the end of each round based on how the system was laid out, and if I did win, I will be fighting Kirishima in the next round.

Besides that, there were a few match-ups that seemed like they were gonna be brutal. Bakugou vs Uraraka was going to be rough, especially with her lack of actual offensive ability. Aoyama had little to no chance against MIna, not with how hard she'd been training her dodging ability. Iida, while I liked the guy, was just not going to win against the Ice Queen, no matter how you slice it.

" **And now that our competitors no who they'll be facing, we're going to allow them time to prepare for their matches!** " Ms. Midnight said to the crowd. " **For our entertainment in the meantime, there will be a series of side events for all those who did not make it to our top sixteen to participate in!** " She gestured to a layout of different sports equipment laid out at the end of the field. The other students began to file that way, though we had obviously just been cleared to leave and prep.

"Hey, guys. I think we should-" I glanced around. None of my friends were present in my immediate vicinity. "What the hell? Where did everybody go?"

At a moment of searching, I spotted pink hair and red hair in the crowd beside each other and heading back into the arena tunnels. Damn. Those two knew better than to talk strategy with me.

I searched some more, but I couldn't spot Momo anywhere. That concerned me, because it should not be easy to lose someone that tall and that attractive. I shrugged and began to step towards the tunnels. There was only one place she could head to, especially since she was in the first match.

* * *

I knocked on the open doorway to the prep room. Momo's head jerked up at the sound, ponytail swishing through the air behind her. Her dark eyes relaxed once she recognized me, but her shoulders were still high and tight, and her fists were half clenched into fists on the tabletop.

"Hey." I gave a half a wave and stepped into the room. My feet were loud on the tile, and the thrum of the air-conditioning might as well have been blaring rock music.

"Hey." Momo returned my wave before letting her forehead fall into her hands. I slipped into the chair beside her and absentmindedly rubbed her back for a few moments. She sighed and leaned forward, bringing her head flat against her wrists on the table.

"So, what's up?" I said. "It's not like you to leave without saying anything. Unless something happened?"

"No, nothing happened…" She murmured from under the veil that her hair provided her. "I'm nervous."

"Why?"

"Because I'm facing Tokoyami, who is one of the stronger members of the class." Momo spoke without hesitation, as if she was just listing off a grocery list. "Because I did a poor job as a leader in the previous round, and that alone makes me question my ability to make decisions in combat."

I sat back in my chair, gently pulling Momo up by her shoulders. I brushed a tuft of hair from her cheek, and her eyes softened. "I feel like this is becoming a thing." I said, pulling her close.

"What is becoming a 'thing'?" I could hear the slight smile on her voice as she rested her head on my chest.

"You feel bad, or nervous about something, and I have to sweep in as the hero and rescue you from your own head." I leaned my chin on top of her head.

"While I believe that I have had to do the same for you, I can't quite disagree." Momo chuckled. "Rescue away, my hero."

"Well, if I were to follow the pattern, which is definitely forming, I would start by physically comforting you." I squeezed her hand, which had fallen into its place in my own at some point.

"Check." Momo said.

"I would then tell you that you are a strong, smart, powerful hero in training, and that you are greater than anything life can throw at you. Especially the Cavalry Battle, because you did a far better job than I could have." I lifted her chin to look her in the eye. Her fringe of bangs was pressed into the side of her face, and she wore no makeup today. Momo was still the prettiest damn thing I had ever seen.

"Check." She smiled fully, white teeth gleaming in the fluorescent light.

"And I think, because of recent events, I would finish cheering you up with a romantic gesture of some kind?" I felt my face flush, and the heat travel down my throat.

Momo's cheeks dusted red, but she kept her wide smile. I leaned down, and she leaned up. I noticed that even if Momo wasn't wearing makeup, her floral perfume flooded my senses. This was only the second time, but the feeling of warmth that spread from her lips to mine was something that I wanted to continue for far too long.

Eventually we broke apart, but I don't think anyone was counting the minutes. "Better?" I asked, my breath a little slower and a little heavier.

She nodded. "Better."

"Good." I stood, extracting myself from her embrace, though I did still clasp her hand in mine. I glanced up at the clock. "You have about five minutes left. Let me walk you to your gate."

Momo blanched. "Five minutes?"

"What's wrong?" I felt my brows furrow.

"I haven't yet thought of a strategy to beat Todoroki, which was what the purpose of separating myself before the match was supposed to be." Momo groaned. "You distracted me…"

I felt a chuckle rumble at the back of my throat. "I did. But I also know that you know Tokoyami's weakness, considering we happened to see it about an hour ago."

Momo gave me a blank and confused look, before her palm shot up to her forehead. "Oh! How could I have forgotten something so obvious?"

"Because you hadn't been rescued by a valiant hero with salad green hair?" I said. "Glad I could be the light of inspiration you needed."

Momo's amusement faded into disappointment. "Though I know the answer, you force me to ask…"

"Yes, that pun was one hundred percent intended, and not even a little on accident."

* * *

 **Sweet, we are finally in the meat of the Sports Festival, the tournament! There are a few canon matches left in the tournament, but all of them will have marked changes, even if the winner maybe stays the same. With that, we have now entered the speculation point in the story! Please, if you think you know how the bracket will turn out, leave a review with your matches laid out!**

 **Seeker of Immortality - Thank you so much for your feedback on the chapter! I was really trying to get that combat feel to the Cavalry Battle, so I'm glad it came across. The 'itch' is something that'll come up at some point, but I can't spoil when, unfortunately. Honestly, writing KyouxMomo bits is becoming one of my favorite parts of writing this, so I'm glad you enjoy them!**

 **Please favorite and follow to keep up with updates and to show your support! The next chapter will be out on July 14th! This is Rel, signing out!**


	22. 7-14-19 Update

**Hey guys! Don't worry, this isn't the no-update chapter that it looks like! I'm just letting y'all know that I have undertaken a task and a half in 'fixing' the mistakes that I've made in previous chapters, including small story errors and misspellings. Have no fear, this doesn't mean that the plot will change!. The actual content will stay the same, but some of the earlier chapters, especially 1 - 6, will look a bit different. I'm going to put out Chapters 1-3 today, just because that's what I have done so far.**

 **Over the last few months, I've fallen into a proper style for writing this story. Since the earlier chapters don't match this style, I've decided to retool them slightly. That unfortunately, means that you guys are going to be getting more than a few non-update emails this week. Hopefully I'll be done by Saturday, but I was putting out this update to let y'all know.**

 **Now, the chapter that was scheduled for this week will come out after I finish retooling the rest of the story. It's already mostly written, but I want to space out the false chapter updates from the real one. After that, we'll return to our regularly scheduled content!**

 **As a favor to me, because I'm just one non-english major here, if any of you see a grammatical error or misspelling, or just straight up mistake, please leave a review or DM me. I would love some help pointing everything out!**

 **That you so much for your time! This is Rel, signing out!**


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